


When the wolves come out, they go straight to your heart.

by Linneus



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Bonding, Crossover, Danny Mahealani Knows, Deaton being Deaton, Emissaries, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Hotel Rooms, I'll add as I write, It's a little bit messy, Jealous Derek, Jealous Stiles, Lydia Knows, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Masturbation, Obliviousness, Other Pack(s), Pack Feels, Rimming, Romance, Sharing, She knows everything, Some sort of crossover?, Trip - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-05-18 15:51:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 104,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5934022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linneus/pseuds/Linneus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek's pack has to go to England to strengthen the alliance with the pack that is hosting Jackson and Danny there.<br/>Stiles, being the pack's emissary (in training) organizes everything for the journey.<br/>Will the change of country change something between the Alpha and his emissary? Will it bring other relatioship to life?<br/>And meanwhile, what will happen in Beacon Hills under Scott's supervision with the Nemeton back to his former glory?</p><p>Follow the adventures of our favourite pack of werewolves, dealing with a stranger land, a foreign pack and emotions that maybe aren't that unknown as they try to let themselves believe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1.1 - Where shall we begin?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Issay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Issay/gifts).



> This is a work in progress, because the inspiration came late.  
> I'm sorry because I really, really wanted to be able to finish this for the due date, but now words have taken a life of their own and I'm a little overwhelmed by all of this.
> 
> This work is for Issay, hoping to having fulfilled her/his requests and hoping even more that she/he will like it as much as I liked writing it!
> 
> *This work needs some edit that I'll do after finishing it. It also doesn't have a beta, if someone wants to check it out for me, I will be very grateful! Especially because English is not my first language and probably there's a lot of mistakes in here*

When Stiles started his training with Deaton to become an Emissary, he thought that one of his first official duties would have consisted in something simple, like taking notes at pack meetings and then consult with the Alpha and his second, so Derek and Scott. He thought that he would have to start preparing their stock of herbs and everything useful for an emissary and his werewolf pack in their supernaturally routines.

He thought he had to take care of the pack like his own family, and that was easy, because he kind of already did that.

But he didn’t thought that Deaton would tell him to do this as his first official duty without giving him any clue of how to even start to organize the whole thing. And he was smiling the whole time, the cryptic bastard, saying how easily all the pieces would fit in place for Stiles.

A fucking trip to enforce their alliance with the pack that was hosting Jackson and Danny in the U.K. And Stiles had no clue of how the pieces would fit in place, because all he could see now in his head was a mess of things to do and no idea how to do them without screwing up the opportunity of being the pack’s emissary, and probably screwing up the pack itself.

Just the thought of being a burden to the pack again, after working so hard on his magic and his supernatural knowledge to help them, made breathing harder.

That is why Stiles was now pacing and ranting in his room, Lydia sitting on his bed filing her nails with a bored expression, nodding at him occasionally.

“Are you even listening to me?” he asked her, stopping in front of the bed and putting his hands on his hips.

“No.” she answered rolling her eyes, “Because I’ve already listened to you on the phone, yesterday and this morning. I already know what the matter is. That’s why I’m here.”

“Lydia you don’t understand. This is huge. How could Deaton give me this as my first official duty as the pack emissary?” Stiles told her, waving his hand in the air and sitting on the bed dramatically.

“Stiles,” she sighed, “what’s the problem in doing this? You are ready; you’ve been studying with him for the last two years.” She stood in front of him, putting her hands on her hips, mocking his previous pose. “And it’s not like you can’t ask for help from your pack, you know?”

He raised his eyes to meet hers, and found her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her plump lips.

He took a deep breath and stood with her, going towards his desk and motioning for Lydia to take a seat.

“You’re right. I’m just…you know. This is big, if Deaton is letting me do this, it means that both Scott and Derek approved.” He took another deep breath. “It means that after this, I’ll be officially the Hale’s pack Emissary.”

Lydia took a seat turning his laptop towards her and giving to him some markers before he could sit next to her.

“Go to your board,” she told him as she started typing God knows what.

“But…” Stiles started to protest, but she raised an eyebrow at him and he did as she said.

“So much for being the pack emissary…You should have done it instead of me...bossy banshee…” he muttered going to the board and erasing a big part full of old notes that were now useless.

“I’m not fit to be the emissary Stiles, and you know it. The whole pack knows it. The only one in this pack who could be it is you, the only one the pack _wants_ as it is you, so stop whining now and use the brain that you claim to have.” She told him a bit annoyed, but with fondness in her voice.

Stiles knew he could be a handful sometimes but some of his insecurity stayed with him even after high school, and it came up at moments like this, when the pressure was too much and Stiles had to prove he was more than a fragile human, that he was an asset to this pack and not a burden.

Lucky for him there was always Lydia to remember him that the pack already considered him an important asset, emissary or not, and that he could do it.

“I’m sorry Lyds,” he told smiling at her. “Lets get this party started!” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, but chuckled anyway, so he counted it as a victory.

“Okay, emissary, start organizing. Tell me the things that you think you have to do and I’ll tell you which marker to use. Green is for the first ones to do, blue for the ones you can do after and black for the ones who can be left for last. You’ll use the red to cross the ones you already did, to keep track of everything.” She efficiently told him and started typing again.

“Yeah, seems fair. But what are you doing with my laptop?” he asked her curiously, while writing on the board in black ‘To Do’s List’, and then ‘First’ in green on his left, ‘After’ in blue in the middle and ‘For Last’ in black at his right.

“Nothing that you have to worry about, I’m just talking to Allison.” She said, flashing him an innocent smile. “I’m waiting.” She told him then.

“Okay, right. So, I have to make a list of who has to come with us, because I don’t think that we all should go. That means I have to meet with Derek and Scott and talk to them about this, because I want to know who they want to come.” He started pacing again, more calmly this time, in front of the board.

“Green, I say that this is one of the first things you have to do. Write ‘Meeting with Alpha’ and under that what you have to discuss with them,” Lydia told him without moving her eyes from the screen.

“Mh, I also have to ask them where they want to stay and for how long, what’s the budget that we have for this trip and what exactly is the location,” he started listing things as he wrote them down, then turned to face Lydia again. “Right now I only know that we have to go in the U.K., but I have no clue of the other details. Do you have any?”

“Stiles, Jackson and Danny are in London, I think that the meeting will be there, don’t you think?” now she sounded exasperated at him.

“I was in panic okay? After Deaton told me what I had to do I haven’t heard another word coming out of his mouth, so sorry if I’m a little bit confused Lyds,” he said to her turning again, “After I have the list I have to book tickets and accommodation for everyone, check luggage regulation and passports for those who come.”

“Blue list,” Lydia told him.

“I have to check the forecast, so that we can take the right clothes and not freeze nor sweat like hell.”

“Black list.”

“Since we are in Europe for once, and in a beautiful city like London, if it’s possible I’d like to do some sightseeing, so I’ll have to do some sort of itinerary.”

“Black list, but add the sightseeing to the things you have to ask at the meeting. You don’t know yet if you have to stay to the pack there all the time and if they’ll take you to visit the city themselves or not.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He said writing on the board and staying in silence for a few seconds, thinking about what other things he had to do for this trip. “I’ll have to check the dollar-pound change, hoping it’s in our favour.”

“Blue list.”

“Right now I can’t come up with anything else, I think it’s better if I ask Derek and Scott to meet me as soon as possible so that we can decide who comes and call a pack meeting and start organizing.” He said, nodding to himself and searching his phone on the desk.

“Here,” said Lydia handing it to him, “See? It’s not that difficult if you just calm down a little. You’ll be fine Stiles. You are our emissary, don’t ever doubt it, okay?” she told him, squeezing his hand lightly and smiling at him.

He smiled back at her, then rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“God, you’ve watched the notebook too many times, you sap.” He moved behind her, “So now I’m going to hug you and ruffle your hair, be prepared.” He threatened, wiggling his fingers close to her.

“Touch my hair and you’ll be dead before anyone could hear my scream,” she told him, half turning on the chair and flicking him on the nose. He scrunched it and laughed, hugging her from the side. She leaned on him a little, resting her head on his shoulder, then her phone chimed and she was up and checking it.

“I have to go,” she told him, “Ally and I are going to do some shopping in an hour and I need to get ready. Call Derek and Scott, and Stiles?”

“Yes?” he asked her, reorganizing the books, papers and various thing on his desk.

“Don’t lose it. Keep calm and carry _us_ on, right?” she smirked at him and with a twirl of red hair she was out of his room.

“Bye, Lyds!” he told her still chuckling.

***

He finished cleaning and reorganizing his desk and then sighed taking his phone and sitting on his bed.

Lydia was gone from ten minutes or so, and even though Stiles knew he could find at least ten reason to postpone this calls and the consequent meeting, he knew that the more he did it, the more the panic of screwing up will get to him and Lydia will have to come back to rescue him again. Probably to kill him this time.

The fact was that after all that happened in the last year, the pack was now united and strong, and Stiles wanted to help make it stronger and even more united. Since he convinced Derek and Scott to be Alpha’s of the same pack, things started to go better for everyone, and Stiles started his training as Emissary as soon as he finished high school. Scott decided to leave to Derek the place of Alpha of the pack, and be his second in command, because, as he said, he had a lot to learn, and Derek could teach him and learn with him as well. That had helped a lot too, now Derek was easier to talk to and a little less grumpy.

Well sometimes at least, usually when Stiles was involved he was always a sourwolf, but not as mean as he was when they first met.

That meant to Stiles that he had to prove to Derek that he deserved to be in the pack and that he could be useful even being human, or in part human since after all he had magic in him. The fact that Derek hadn’t protested when he started his emissary training didn’t mean that he was going to accept him as _his_ pack’s emissary.

But arrived to this point if Stiles didn’t fuck this one up, he probably will be recognized by the Alpha as the official emissary of the Hale’s pack.

He took one deep breath and decided to call Derek first, and then tell Scott when they will met and if he could make it. He hoped Derek wasn’t sleeping, because a sleepy Derek was a grumpy Derek, and now Stiles wasn’t ready for a grumpy Derek.

The phone ringed two times before Derek picked up, and when he did Stiles’ heart missed a beat.

“Stiles?” Derek rough voice asked.

“Ye-yeah, it’s me. Did I wake you?”

“No, I was training with Cora and Peter. What do you need?”

“Well, Deaton assigned me the first duty – or the test duty, if you prefer – to see if I’m fit to be your pack emissary, and I have to organize the trip to strengthen the alliance with the pack that’s hosting Jackson and Danny. I wanted to meet with you to talk about who should come. I’ve got other things to ask you about it as well. I think Scott should be present as well, if you don’t mind.” Stiles started to talk as he always did when he was nervous, but tried to remember that Derek was his Alpha too now, and as an emissary, he had to give advice to him and accept it from him as well.

He breathed again deeply, waiting for Derek’s answer.

“Yes, of course…” he answered with a little confusion in his voice, “Scott can be there. When do you want to meet?” he asked then, he voice back to normal.

“It’s okay today before dinner? If we make it before dinner, I could cook for the whole pack and we can have a pack meeting for dinner and tell them, so tomorrow I’ll start with the most urgent things to do.”

“Yeah, seems fair. Be here at six with Scott?” Derek flexed he end of the sentence just in time to make it a question and not an order, and Stiles appreciated the effort.

“I think we can make it, I’ll call Scott now and then I’ll text you.”

“Okay, later then…” Derek paused, and snorted “emissary.” Stiles could hear the little smirk in his voice, but he knew that that was Derek’s way to say he was okay with it. For now.

“Yeah, yeah, later sourwolf,” he retorted chuckling lightly and hung up.

He closed his eyes for a moment, still smiling and thinking that this was going better than he thought it would.

He laid down on the bed and called Scott, thinking that he probably was almost at the end of his shift.

The first time he didn’t answer so Stiles started to prepare the things for the evening, thinking about what to cook for dinner for the whole pack. He always enjoyed cooking for all of them, and the kitchen at Derek’s was amazing.

He tried again when he had everything ready and 4pm where approaching, but Scott didn’t answer this time either. He was getting ready to take a shower when his phone started to ring and Scott’s photo flashed on his screen. He put on speaker and set the phone on his desk, and started choosing his clothes.

“Ehi, Scotty my boy! Finally,” he greeted him, “what where you doing?”

“Hi Stiles, sorry, we were operating a puppy who broke his leg and I couldn’t answer. It was a last time thing, but now he is better and he little owner happy. What’s the matter?” Scott’s bubbly voice came from the phone.

“Are you free later? We have to meet at Derek’s at six, we have something to discuss about the pack.”

“Is everything all right?” Scott asked, and Stiles could almost see his frown.

“Yes Scott, just things to discuss between us before telling the rest of the pack,” he answered.

“Is this an emissary-alpha thing?” he asked curious.

“Yeah, I guess, kind of.”

“Great, I like it! I’ll see you later then, I’ll be at yours at five thirty and we can go to Derek’s together, okay?”

“All right, I’ll go get a shower then. See you later buddy,” Stiles said and hung up as soon as Scott has said his goodbyes.

***

Stiles took a long relaxing shower, the water loosening his muscles and his hands roaming on his skin, lingering on the few scars that painted his body in the last years.

He would have gone a little bit further than that, but hey, after staying with werewolves for a short time, he understood that he shouldn’t underestimate their nose. Many embarrassing moment had already happened due to his crazy hormones, he wasn’t going to take a chance before a meeting important like this. Even though the extra relax would have been perfect for his nerves.

He just scrubbed himself quickly, trying not to think about anything or anyone particularly arousing, and it proved to be not a small effort when brown-green eyes and furrowed eyebrows came to his mind constantly.

Yes, Stiles had accepted his bisexuality as soon as he realized that Derek wasn’t really a threat to them, and that the strange sensations that he felt when he was near weren’t caused by fear, but by his crazy hormones all over the place for the grumpy werewolf.

But it was just a hormonal crush, so Stiles tried to keep it buried deep down and not let it influence his relationship with the pack, or his emissary duties. Like right now, he pushed all deep down and focused only on what the meeting would be about.

He turned off the water and grabbed a towel getting out of the shower. He towelled himself and then rubbed a little his hair, trying to dry them a little and fixing them in front of the mirror.

It was useless. Now that they were a little bit long, they stick in every direction, so he leaved like that for the moment, and went to his room to get dressed.

He put on one of his t-shirt, the one with the target on the centre of it, a plaid shirt and a pair of light-blue jeans. He looked for his shoes under the bed, hopping around the room to put them on.

He went back to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, tried to fix his hair a little more, setting them more on the side, but they stood up a little anyway. He sprayed himself with a little unscented deodorant (damn werewolf noses) and went back to his room to prepare his backpack.

It was almost five thirty when he finished putting in his pack the things he set aside earlier and some more, and the front door opened, signalling Scott’s arrival.

“Ehy, Stiles!” Scott’s voice came from downstairs, followed by his footsteps on the stairs to Stiles’ room.

“Hi buddy!” Stiles answered, turning around to greet him with a smile.

Scott’s dimpled smile mirrored his, and grabbing his backpack Stiles went to give him a one-sided hug.

“Let’s go then!” Scott said returning his hug, and headed for the stairs.

Stiles followed him, humming an unknown melody. He grabbed his wallet and his car keys from the table next to the front door and got out in the spring sun.

He locked the front door, knowing that his father won’t be back home for a long yet, but maybe he could make it for dinner at Derek’s. He will text him something later.

***

They were at Derek’s in a little more than ten minutes, his flat was at the top of the four stores building while the ones beneath were Cora’s and Peter’s. The whole Hale’s family decided to live in the same building but not having lived together for so long it would have been difficult to live in the same flat, so they renovated the old building and went to live there one on each apartment.

One was left free, and they used it for pack training, both supernatural creatures and humans.

They entered the building with the keys that Derek gave to the whole pack, but arrived at the top floor, Stiles went to knock on the door but Derek beat him to it by opening it before he could even raise his hand.

“Ehi,” he waved awkwardly at him, followed by Scott and Derek gave them both a nod and turned around, knowing that they will follow him inside.

Derek’s flat was some sort of an open space, with a big kitchen linked to the living room by an arc, the big marble and wood isle in the middle of it. Derek usually used it just as a table, but Stiles loved Derek’s kitchen because it was spacious and hey, it had an island. That was amazing. When they ate here and he cooked, he could watch the rest of the pack mingling, bonding Derek would say, in the living room, while he hummed and walked around the kitchen preparing their food.

Stiles noted that he was barefoot, lazily heading for the couch and flopping himself there, where the sun from the windows warmed the black leather. He looked a little bit like a puppy in the sun. A grumpy, composed puppy, but a puppy none the less.

Scott took a seat on the armchair next to the couch, sprawling himself on it, legs dangling on the armrest, already relaxed and feeling at home.

Stiles stood still in front of them for a moment, watching the scene in front of his eyes and asking himself if those two were really his Alpha and his second in command.

At Derek’s arched eyebrow towards him, Stiles regained the function of his legs and went to sit on the soft carpet that covered the whole floor under and around the couch and the armchairs. He stretched his legs under the coffee table and rested his back on the armchair at the other side of the couch, opposite to Scott and at Derek’s right.

He set his backpack next to him and took a deep breath.

“So,” he said, smirking lightly towards Scott and Derek “where shall we begin?”


	2. 1.2 - So, let’s start planning.

Stiles rubbed his temples sighing, a mild headache radiating through the front of his skull.  
They spent the last hour and a half talking about the details of this trip, who should come, who should stay, how, why, the budget, would they be hosted by the other pack or they had to find accommodation elsewhere, and so on.  
They decided that Derek, Stiles, Lydia, Parrish, Peter and Allison would go, while Scott, Cora, Melissa, Kira, Isaac, the Sheriff and Chris would stay. After all, they won’t need the whole pack going and it was better they left a good part of it here to keep an eye on Beacon Hills.  
Their pack was big enough now, mismatched and full of strays, but it was theirs and they made it work.  
Stiles now had a new set of to do’s and he run it again in his head. He had to talk with his dad about giving a leave from the station to Parrish so he could come with them, representing the fact that “the law” of Beacon Hills was aware of the supernatural. Their deputy was one of them after all. Scott would be the Alpha while Derek wasn’t there so that was settled; Derek had offered to talk to the Alpha of the U.K. pack to put Stiles and their emissary in contact for the details.  
He asked Stiles to check for hotels for them, because being confined in the other’s pack territory would already be difficult for him, so at least for accommodation he wanted to have a little freedom. After talking to his dad, he would have to check for hotels. Derek said that budget wasn’t an issue, but Stiles wasn’t used to spend more money than necessary if he could avoid it.  
He would probably ask Lydia help for this.  
Other than bringing a gift to the pack for gratitude, having a dinner with them and meeting them a few more times, Derek had told Stiles that they should have the time to wander around the city on their own.  
They would be staying there for two weeks, and Stiles’ mind was already whirling with places he wanted to see and things he wanted to do in the beautiful European city.  
He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Scott standing up and stretching, getting ready to leave until he spoke.  
“I have to go pick up Kira,” he said, “We’re all having dinner here?”  
Stiles turned to Derek, waiting for his answer. It was his house after all, and he was the Alpha.  
“Yeah,” Derek said, stretching and getting up too. “I can give you a ride to hers or to your place, if Stiles needs to go grocery shopping”. He glanced at Stiles with an eyebrow slightly raised.  
“Yes, I need to check what you already have, but I think that I’ll have to go out anyway for some things.”  
“What are you making?” Scott asked.  
“Surprise” he answered smirking at him. Scott huffed and pouted, but headed for the door without complaining.  
“Lock the door on your way out, I’ll send the others a text. It’s nine okay?” Derek threw a set of keys to Stiles, putting on his leather jacket and following Scott to the door.  
Stiles caught the keys and stared at them with astonished eyes, nodding shortly to Derek. Scott eyebrows shoot up, but he didn’t make a sound, just turned around and waved at Stiles on his way out. Derek nodded again at him and went after Scott, closing the door behind him.  
Stiles looked again at the keys in his palm. Derek gave every one of them a set of keys for the front door of the building, but never gave to anyone the keys of its own front door. Stiles knew he had to give them back later, but just the fact that Derek left him in his flat and gave him the keys was sending Stiles’ brain in overdrive.  
He shook his head and stopped thinking too much about it. It was just a set of keys. Derek’s keys, not his. Derek just gave them to him to be practical, so he could start dinner without having to wait for Derek to be back after he finished with the groceries.  
He exhaled and went to the kitchen to look for ingredients for lasagna, making a mental note to stop by his house and grab the tomato sauce with spices and minced meat he made yesterday. He found the pasta and a casserole where to cook it in the cabinets above the kitchen counters and mozzarella in the refrigerator. He needed just some filante cheese and bacon.  
He headed back to the living room and took from his backpack his wallet, his phone and his car keys. He checked his wallet to see if he had enough money, and seeing that he had, he headed outside, locking the door behind himself and pushing the new set of keys deep in the left front pocket of his jeans.  
***  
He went to the nearest grocery shop and bought a piece of cheese, a piece of bacon and a pack of frozen curly fries to make for second, along with some ketchup and mayo.  
On his way to the counter, he grabbed a box of mix for chocolate cake and canned whipped cream, to have dessert just in case. He would have preferred to make it by himself, but he didn’t have time. And he preferred not to risk leaving his pack without dessert, because they would probably eat him if he did.  
He paid and went home to pick up the sauce, grabbing a pan for the cake and heading out quickly.  
He made it back to Derek’s flat around eight, let himself in and called for Derek, but he wasn’t back yet.  
He checked his phone, seeing that everyone was coming for dinner. They were all curious about this trip.  
He texted Derek, letting him know that he was back at the flat and then he set everything on the counter and getting started.  
He put water in a pot and set it on the stove and while he waited for it to boil, he started cutting the cheese and the bacon into little cubes. He did the bacon first, cooking it a little in a frying pan, with a hint of pepper and salt. He set the cut mozzarella aside and checked the water. It was boiling, so he took a plate from the rack above the sink, he put the pasta in the water and after a minute, he took it out sheet after sheet and set it on the plate.  
He cut quickly the last of the cheese and set the big casserole he found earlier on the counter in front of him. He set the oven at 200°C and turned around to put everything together.  
He made four layers stuffed with cheese and bacon, internally crying because he knew his father shouldn’t eat like this, but tonight Stiles had to keep him on his good side. On the last layer he put everything that was left and then remembered that he needed some parmesan for the top, to make it crusty and delicious. He hoped Derek had some.  
He checked in the fridge, but didn’t found any. He was lucky though, because he found it in the freezer and dusted it over the lasagna.  
He put the casserole in the oven and checked the time. It was eight thirty, so he sent a group text to the pack telling them that dinner will be probably ready for nine thirty. Someone complained, but he shut them up telling them that he was busy, so deal with it or make your own dinner.  
No more complains after that. Everyone loved Stiles’ cooking; they wouldn’t risk missing it not even for a chance.  
He rinsed the things he used and put them in the dishwasher. He was setting the fryer near the window on the counter when he heard the door opening and then closing again. He didn’t bother to turn around and check who it was, because it could be only Derek.  
He poured the oil in the fryer and closed it, turning it on.  
Meanwhile he set out the things to make the cake. Derek walked in the kitchen while he was taking the eggs out of the fridge.  
“Are you making lasagna?” he asked, brows furrowed and nose twitching.  
“Yes,” Stiles answered smiling and started cracking eggs in a bowl. He loved cooking, it relaxed him and made him feel connected with his mother, and it always managed to make him smile.  
Derek hummed in appreciation, sitting down on a stool at the counter and watching Stiles crack the eggs.  
“Do you need help with something?” the werewolf asked after a little.  
“Not for now,” Stiles replied, “thanks though.”  
He poured the mix in the bowl with the eggs and started whisking it. He tried not to think about Derek’s eyes glued on him, following his moves.  
He was completely relaxed, sitting at the counter, watching him cook in his own kitchen, and Stiles tried not to let the domesticity of it get to him. He tried not to think about what it would be like to be able to be with Derek like this more often. Like he always did, he pushed this thoughts deep down.  
He added some milk to the mix, needing to move away from Derek’s gaze, and Derek must have noticed because he cleared his throat and stood up.  
“I’m going to get changed,” he said, breaking the odd silence, “then I’ll set the things for dinner in the living room.”  
“Yeah, thanks,” Stiles answered without looking at him. Why was he feeling this awkward right now? It wasn’t the first time he and Derek were alone in a room, so why? He shook his head, chasing out of his mind the questions, knowing he won’t get an answer.  
The batter was ready from a while, but he kept whisking it without noticing. He glanced again at the clock and cursed, pouring the batter on the pan where he had set some baking paper and then put it on the oven below the one where the lasagna was cooking.  
Did he already said that he loved Derek’s kitchen? Two ovens. What could you ask more?  
It was now almost nine, luckily the oil in the fryer wasn’t burnt so he got everything ready for cooking the fries. Another reason to love Derek’s kitchen. This fryer was huge, so he would take him little time to be finished.  
He was putting the first batch in the fryer’s basket when he heard Derek moving furniture in the living room to make more space so they could all seat on the couch, the armchairs and mostly on the soft carpet.  
After a few minutes, he came to the kitchen and started rummaging for plates, glasses and silverware, lazily walking around the open space and setting the things on the small coffee table.  
When he was piling up the plates to take them too, Stiles stopped him.  
“Leave the here, it will be easier later if I already have them here to put the lasagna in.”  
Derek nodded and made space in the central counter, the isle that Stiles liked so much, and set there the plates, a spatula and fork.  
Stiles smiled at him and Derek was about to say something when the doorbell rang. He shut his mouth and went to let the others in.  
Scott, Kira, Isaac and Melissa came in, and Stiles waved at them from the kitchen, half-listening to their greetings and questions while he checked the lasagna and the cake. It was almost a quarter past nine, the fries were almost ready and the others were all almost there.  
He took the last fries out of the fryer and checked again the lasagna. It was ready, so he took it out of the oven and set it on the isle next to the plates to let it cool a little.  
The cake was almost done too, but he wanted to wait until nine thirty to take it out, so he went to the living room to greet properly the others and they all made clear that they were starving.  
“I get it, I get it,” Stiles said exasperated to them, laughing at Isaac and Scott’s impatient faces, “I’m going to set the plates,”  
He went to the kitchen, turned off the other oven, took out the cake and set it on the stove to cool. He then cut the lasagna into even pieces and started setting them into the dishes. Derek came to the isle from the living room side and took two plates with the food already on it.  
“I’ll start taking those to them,” he said to Stiles with a quick smile. Stiles smiled back, still a little bit baffled by the fact that Derek smiled this much now, not completely free yet, but more relaxed around them all to smile more often.  
Stiles followed Derek with his eyes and his father intercepted his gaze, raising an eyebrow at him in a questioning manner. Stiles smirked at him and got back to serving lasagna.  
Derek kept coming and going, giving everyone a plate and then taking out of the fridge beers and other beverages, setting them on the coffee table with the glasses and then sat down at the end of the couch.  
Stiles set the last two plates and went in the living room, finding a spot on the carpet, next to Derek’s feet. He gave Derek his plate and sat down with a relieved sigh, inhaling the smell coming from his plate.  
He glanced up at the pack, all lost in conversations with each other and the looked up at Derek. He looked back at him for a brief moment, raising his plate as to say thank you, he looked at the others clearing his voice and they all started to eat. Compliments were address to Stiles between mouthfuls and moans, and he tried not to make too obvious how much he was happy about it.  
They ate hungrily and happily, someone at a certain point brought over the fries with ketchup and mayo and those too disappeared quickly.  
Kira and Allison stated piling up the dirty dishes passing them to Isaac and Cora, who were rinsing them and loading the dishwasher. The others were chatting or helping in some way and Stiles felt his lip curl up in a fond smile. He let them clean up everything then stood up, motioning to Derek and Scott to follow him to the kitchen.  
He went in the kitchen and opened the fridge, aware that Scott and Derek were right behind him. He took out the canned whipped cream and grabbed a knife and the cake. He set everything on the counter and started cutting the cake in a half.  
“I think it’s time for cake and talking, right?” he asked the two werewolves.  
“I think so, yeah…” Scott answered, and Derek just nodded at him.  
“Okay, so get plates and forks and give me a hand”  
Scott and Derek set out everything while Stiles filled the middle of the chocolate cake with whipped cream and started to cut slices for everyone. When Derek and Scott finished bringing the plates to the others, Stiles exhaled a nervous breath and splayed his hands on the counter, relishing in the fresh surface.  
“I can do this,” he thought. He rubbed his hands and went to face the music.


	3. 1.3 - And that's the plan

When they were eating the cake Derek sat a little straighter and caught the pack’s attention.

“As you all know,” he started “We are going to visit the pack that’s hosting Jackson and Danny, and me, Scott and Stiles came up with a plan about this. Well, mostly Stiles, since he’s our emissary. He will explain what we came up with.”

His face was very serious, but Stiles could feel the amusement radiating from him for having been able to drop this conversation completely into Stiles hands. He was testing him apparently.

Well, Stiles was known for never declining a challenge. He punched lightly Derek’s shin and smiled to the whole group.

“Thanks Derek for this introduction,” he said sarcastically at the wolf, then turned back to the others, “As our Alpha was saying,” he continued smirking, “we discussed the planning of this trip earlier and we, well I mostly, need to know if there is any change to be made so that I can start booking tickets and our accommodation. So now let me explain everything and then I’ll listen to what you all think about it, okay?”

They all nodded, curious or surprised by his seriousness.

“We are going there for two weeks, from the 4th of April to the 17th, just after Easter, so it won’t be too crowded nor too expensive. We already set a budget, Derek approved it and it’s pack money, so it’ll be used for the flights, accommodation and food expenses. Anything else you want to buy, you pay for it.” He took a deep breath, “We were thinking that Derek, I, Lydia, Allison, Peter and Jordan should go, while the others will stay here to keep an eye on the city.”

He stopped for a second while some complains and objections were made. Seeing that he wasn’t going to continue until it was quiet again, the group stopped talking.

“We choose these pack members for a reason. Obviously Derek because he is the Alpha, and Scott here can cover his role well enough. I’m the emissary, so it’s given that I’ll be there. Allison has to come to represent the fact that we have an alliance with the hunters in this city, she can explain how the new code works and everything. She’s the new legacy of the Argent’s family and the new code was her idea, so it’s better her than Chris to meet the pack.” He looked straight at Chris, but he seemed to not have any objection to his thinking, “Peter is part of the Hale family, part of the original pack, and even after everything” he released a shuddering breath, “He his family, he repented, he helped us and gained his place in the pack again. This shows what kind of Alpha Derek is, and they have to see this side too. Jordan has to come because he is a supernatural creature working for the law, the sheriff department that knows about the supernatural and helps this pack as best as he can.” He smiled gratefully at his dad.

He stood up and started pacing, because he needed to move with all that attention on himself. It was so strange being taken so seriously by them. He had to get used to this, he was going to be their emissary officially after this.

“Lydia, well. I think it’s pretty much self-explanatory that our pack isn’t a traditional one. We like to be various, and showing that not just humans, but others supernatural creatures are welcome to join, tells a lot about us.” He turned to face the group, “And I don’t want to be the reason for her scream if I don’t take her to U.K. with us.” He joked to break the seriousness.

It worked. He felt a little bit better now that they were all more relaxed about this.

He pointed at his dad with both his hands.

“You first, daddy-o. I need you to give Jordan a leave of two weeks to come with us, and maybe you could check out if everything with our passports his all right?” he asked his dad hopefully.

“Yes, that’s something I can do,” the sheriff answered, “the only tricky part will probably be covering all your police records. If I don’t you probably won’t be able to leave the country.”

Stiles smirked at him. “What can I say? I’m a rebel!”

“You’re nosy. That’s what you are. Go on, son,” the sheriff told him, chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah. Lyds I need your help for booking the hotels. I’d like for you to check some that I was thinking about, would you?”

“Don’t worry, I take care of the booking myself if you want,” she said with a sweet smile.

Stiles was a little afraid by that smile, but he needed help. He wanted the pack to feel involved in this, and if they could help him, better, because it reduced the chances of screwing up.

“Yes, thanks Lyds that would be awesome. Ally, can you and Chris prepare a copy of the new code to take with us? Maybe they’ll want to take a look at it, or we’ll find hunters to convert.”

“We’ll work on it tomorrow. I’ll contact someone in London that you might want to talk to about it, if you want.” Chris spoke, directing the end of his sentence to Derek.

“It might be useful to have hunter allies there too, Derek. Jackson and Danny don’t seem inclined to come back soon, and it could be good for the other pack too. Our alliance could be even stronger if we guaranteed protection from the hunters making them allies.” Stiles said, turning to Derek.

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it and I’ll let both know,” Derek said, but his brows were furrowed angrily and his voice was cold. Stiles dropped it; he would talk to Derek about it later.

He knew how much Derek still resented the hunters for what had happened to his family, but nonetheless had accepted Allison and Chris in his pack. They could work on this, but now it wasn’t the time to push it.

“Okay, fine,” he said calmly, focusing his attention elsewhere. “Where was I? Oh, yes! Peter” he told him, pointing his finger at him sternly, “Try not to seduce anyone there, we do not need any European dramas, okay?”

Peter snickered and crossed his legs in front of himself.

“Oh don’t worry, Stiles, I’ve already all they I want here. I’ll behave.” He was smirking widely, so Stiles couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. The glint in his blue eyes wasn’t helping either.

“You better,” he told him, trying to keep a straight face.

The thing with Peter was that after all these years; Stiles had gotten to know him enough. After the ‘I’m the Apha’ debacle and other things, Peter seemed to have regained his sanity and found his place in the pack. Derek allowed him to stay because he was family, one of the only two members left, and he had learned his lesson. He helped a lot now, even though he was always an asshole about it, but that was Peter.

Stiles, like Scott and Isaac, had to be grateful to him because he helped them throughout their college years, with money and advice. The last year had been especially hard on Stiles, because he started his training as emissary and it was difficult for him to keep an eye on his dad and everything while taking his last exams and studying magic.

Peter had lend a hand, making sure that his father was following his diet and wasn’t working too much, also keeping an eye on Melissa for Scott and Isaac. Up to today, Stiles still didn’t know how that had been possible, but he was grateful for it. His father was well, he had graduated and now he was starting his emissary…thing.

“I think that this is all for now, folks!” he said to everyone, “Any questions?”

When everyone shook their heads, Stiles sat again on the carpet, stretching his legs on it.

“I think that this meeting is over then,” he glanced at the clock and saw that was nearly midnight, “If you want you can go, if there’s any news I’ll let you know. And if you have some places you want to see or things you want to do while we’re there, let me know. I’m trying to come up with an itinerary.”

They nodded, Stiles’ dad stood up followed by Parrish, ready to go to the central for their night shift. Chris and Melissa getting up to go home together as always, and Stiles wondered when that had become normal for him. Allison and Scott seemed to have no problem with it now that they were just on friendly terms, and they were both happy for their parents.

Scott and Kira said their goodbyes too, and went back to their apartment. Isaac went out with Cora and Peter went back to his flat. Stiles stood up and started cleaning up the cake dishes and bringing them to the kitchen. He put them on the sink and started rinsing, while Lydia and Allison talked to Derek about something, one on his side of the grumpy werewolf on the couch.

Stiles couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but surely was something that had to do with the trip and that needed approval from the Alpha, if the way they were talking about it was saying something. It must be something Lydia and Allison really wanted to do to put such effort in bothering an already annoyed werewolf.

He was almost finished when he heard Allison saying goodbye from the other room and Lydia approaching him.

“You were good today,” she said hugging him from the side, not getting close to the sink, “have a good night, I’ll call you tomorrow for the hotels, all right?”

“Yeah, of course, thanks Lyds. Good night,” he left a light kiss on her cheek and then she was gone.

He heard Derek walking them to the door, and again that feeling of familiarity, belonging, hit him full force. Stiles tried to suppress it, but Derek’s soft steps entered the kitchen and he froze. He kept cleaning the plates without turning around, and heard Derek moving things around.

He was putting back the things he used to make dinner, like it was something ordinary that they acted like this. Stiles cleaning and Derek setting back everything. The silence was becoming too heavy for Stiles, he needed a distraction from this, before his thoughts betrayed him and got a life of their own, ruining his.

“That went well, right?” he asked, his voice cracking lightly, nervously.

“Yeah,” Derek voice came from some place behind him, where he was still putting things in their cabinets. “You did well.” His voice was even, but Stiles knew that something was bothering him

He didn’t knew though, if this was the right time to talk about it or if he should wait. Would he be able to wait to talk about it?

“Chris suggestion wasn’t bad. What’s bothering you about it?” he asked drying his hands and turning around to face him. Apparently not. Damn his mouth.

Derek’s shoulder stiffened at the question and he didn’t turn to face Stiles. He rested his hands on the counter in front of him and exhaled roughly.

“I…” he started, shaking his head. Stiles could see he was debating in himself to say something. He rolled his eyes and headed for the living room.

“We need to talk about it,” he said flopping in the sofa with a tired sigh, “I’m…” he paused unsure, but kept going anyway, “I’m your emissary, you have to talk to me about the thing that bother you, especially if they are pack related. And this is, so come on. Sit or whatever you prefer, here, so we can talk about it and try to fix it. Then we can go to sleep.”

He realized right away that his last words could be misinterpreted, and he could already feel his face reddening.

“I meant, so that I can go home and then sleep.” He muttered, not even knowing why he was justifying his previous words. Maybe because he knew Derek could smell what he felt right now and didn’t wanted him to do it. They had an agreement, never smell his emotions, or any of the other pack members, if it wasn’t an emergency. Like if they wanted to make sure that someone wasn’t in pain, or really troubled.

Right now, Stiles hoped Derek was sticking to their agreement. Because he was probably smelling like arousal, and shame and confusion, tiredness and denial. And happiness and satisfaction, too, because the evening went well and he was happy about it. Very happy.

Derek laid flat on the carpet, at the feet of the couch, Stiles could hear him clearly but couldn’t see him, except for his feet, and he thought that probably that was what Derek was aiming at.

Stiles waited in silence even though he wanted to ask so much questions about this. Was it because of his family? For the pack? The only hunter he trusted were Chris and Allison because he could keep an eye on them? He wanted to ask everything that came to mind, but he bit his lip and waited for Derek to speak.

“I…” Derek started again, his voice quiet in the barely lit room, a little rough on the edges, like he was talking against his will but at the same time willing to share his thoughts.

“I think it’s a good idea, but…” he stopped, “I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. We don’t know this pack, how they feel about hunters, how hunters feel about them there. I don’t want to make wrong choices about this. Jackson and Danny have a life there, I don’t want to ruin that for them just because I’m an incompetent Alpha.” The last part was muttered almost like someone was forcing it out of him.

“Derek…” Stiles started, “You’re an idiot.”

Derek’s head shoot up and now he was watching Stiles with his eyebrows completely furrowed and angry, maybe even hurt eyes. He turned his face away and started to stand up but Stiles pulled his sleeve and he stopped his motions. Face still turned away, but he stayed there.

“You’re an idiot because if Jackson and Danny didn’t trust you as their Alpha they would never have asked you to do this. They know you. We all know you, if we are doing this it’s because we know that we can do it, you on top, because without you, Alpha, we are no pack.”

Derek looked at him shocked. He opened his mouth to say something back but Stiles beat him to it.

“No shut up. Scott wouldn’t be a better Alpha for us, because he himself doesn’t think so. He is an Alpha that wants you to be HIS Alpha, shouldn’t this be telling you something?” he stood up and went to gather his things, “Sometimes you really are a paranoid idiot, sourwolf. And now, since I think you have clear in your mind that you are our Alpha and you won’t screw this up, I’m going home, because I’m the one who might screw it up every step of the way and I need my beauty sleep.”

He grabbed his things and went to the door, pushing his hands deep in his pockets. The set of keys Derek gave him earlier was there. He stopped and turned around again, just to find Derek right behind him, walking him to the door.

“Here,” he said, taking the keys out of his pocket and handing them to Derek. Derek stared at them and his eyebrows told Stiles that he was confused.

“I gave those to you,” he said, now looking Stiles in the eyes.

“Yes, wasn’t I supposed to give them back?” Stiles asked, sounding as confused as Derek eyebrows looked.

“No, I made those for you. You are my…our emissary, you are entitled to have them,” he said, averting his gaze, “keep them.”

“I…” Stiles was speechless, “Thank you, I suppose. For trusting me this much, I mean,” he stuttered, “I’m  gonna go now,” he added quickly.

“Yeah…yeah, good night emissary Stiles.” Derek told him, mockingly and fondly at the same time. His eyes still not looking at Stiles, but the hint of a smile gracing his lips.

“Good night…” and with that, Stiles was out of Derek’s apartment.

He did the stairs practically bouncing, the ride home was quick and Stiles hadn’t even realized how tired he was until he reached his front door. He locked everything on his way in and double-checked, because one can never be too careful. When he got to his room he took off his clothes, went for a quick shower and then thrown himself on his bed, relishing in the softness and coolness of the sheets.

He set his alarm for the day after and then closed his eyes. He was trying to think about what went on during the day, but all he could think about was the set of keys that now sat with the ones of his own home, and without realizing he fell asleep thinking of green eyes, stubble and a soft, rough voice that kept repeating ‘keep them’, like a lullaby in his head.

That’s how Stiles fell asleep and slept one of the most restful nights in the last years.


	4. 2.1 - Wardrobe choices

The organization of the trip was proceeding smoothly. Stiles’ dad had checked everyone’s passports and they were all right to go, and Parrish leave request was already in the elaboration phase, it wouldn’t take long before he could sign it and accept it like needed by regulation.

Lydia was taking care of the accommodation and with Derek’s approval; Stiles left to her the choice of the place they were going to stay. He was just waiting her confirmation of the booking.

Stiles in the meantime was organizing itineraries based on the request of pack members and on his own preferences. He made some maps, one for each itinerary. Every itinerary had an identical part, with the most important things one should see when going to London, like museums, parks, places of cultural importance, like the platform 9 ¾. He seemed fair to him that everyone that was coming knew where those places where in addition to the ones they wanted to see.

He was researching a lot for this trip, and discovered many new places he wanted to see. His map was probably the one with most highlighted spots and his itinerary probably the thickest and fullest. He wondered if he would be able to see everything that he had listed. It seemed quite impossible, but he would try nonetheless.

Derek’s itinerary wasn’t long, and when Stiles asked him if he wanted him to include some of his discoveries in his itinerary, Derek told him that there was no need, that he went to London before, when he was younger, with Laura he added with an harsh breath. He already knew where he wanted to go, but thanked Stiles anyway, telling him that the map was a good idea and he will need it.

Stiles was focusing on Lydia’s and Allison’s itineraries, they were the only two left and matched in lot of the places they wanted to see. He almost jumped on his desk when he turned around to get another highlighter and found Derek sitting in his bed.

The werewolf was sitting there like it was his own bed, back resting on the wall, one of Stiles’ guides of London between his hands.

“Dude!” Stiles said, flailing his arms around. “Never heard of knocking? Or the front door?”

“I came in from the front door, Stiles,” he replied, his eyes glued to the pages.

“You…what?” asked Stiles confused, stopping his flailing.

“Your father let me in. I arrived when he was going out for his shift and he let me in,” he said, “You really didn’t notice?”

“I didn’t, I was really concentrated on Lydia’s itinerary.” He shook his head, wondering for how much Derek had been there in the room with him. A lot, judging by the point he reached on the guide he was reading.

He grabbed the highlighter that he needed and went back to his desk.

“Next time warn a guy when you enter his room, okay?” he said sarcastically, “I almost had a heart attack seeing you like that in my bed.”

“Sorry Stiles,” Derek muttered, but he was so engrossed in the guide that Stiles realized he wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying.

He went back to organizing Lydia’s trip, selecting a few places to add to his itinerary and highlighting all the right spots in her map.

He couldn’t concentrate like before though, now aware of Derek’s presence behind him. It was like he switched a button. Now he could hear all the little noises that made clear the presence of another person in the room.

He could hear the rustling of the pages as Derek turned them, his even, calm breathing. It was like he could feel him radiating in waves around himself, like his alpha being was making himself clear, making Stiles know that he was there. He could almost feel it inside himself, like in his mind. Probably that was just a milligram of what the werewolves of the pack felt when they were in presence of the Alpha, but Stiles was happy that he could feel at least something. It meant that he really was part of the pack, and that he was becoming something more important.

Being an emissary was changing things. Deaton had told him, it will arrive the day when Stiles would feel Derek’s Alpha power and influence like the others did. It will become a connection at a deeper level, like being a werewolf himself, but with more autonomy that the others beta in the pack. He was the emissary after all, so he had to be able to counter the alpha’s decisions. He was there to give advice, to make him, or any member of the pack, reflect on what was right and better for the pack’s own benefit.

He just hoped he could do it.

He could start making this trip memorable and useful for all of them, he though starting again to highlight spots in Lydia’s map.

***

The departure was approaching quickly and Stiles had everything under control. They were all ready, passports checked, maps and itineraries ready. Stiles was constantly keeping an eye on the weather, not only online but also speaking daily with the other’s pack emissary, Remus. He was a kind English middle-aged man, and Stiles couldn’t wait to meet him in person. He had lots of stories to share with him about his time as an emissary as well as his lycanthropy. This was the detail that stuck most with Stiles, the fact that he was an emissary AND a werewolf.

Apparently, the weather in London in April was a little milder than usual, not too warm but neither cold. It was Stiles needed after the sudden burst of hot temperatures of the Easter week. He wondered how it was possible that no chocolate eggs had melted.

They spent Easter all together. They were at Stiles’, everyone brought something and they had chocolate and games. It was fun. They were a big family now, and it was in moment like this that Stiles realized how much he enjoyed it.

Well, Easter aside, he was waiting impatiently for the day of the departure. He couldn’t wait to be in London. This was a new adventure. A small one compared to their previous ones, but one could never know right?

They will be leaving in two days, so Stiles was in his room choosing clothes to take with him, dividing them in his luggage. He had decided to take a small carry-on bag and put there his clothes and toiletries, then to fit the small bag into his hold luggage and take with him in the plane a small backpack with a book and some necessities he might need in a more than ten hours flight.

He had a list with the things he was bringing with him, pinned to his white-board, and he was double-checking that everything was there in the luggage. He was walking in his room, from his closet and dresser to his bed, setting there the clothes he was selecting, and swaying a little to the music coming from his laptop. He was in the middle of a particularly intense dance move when a voice from his door made him jump around with a hand on his heart.

“Getting ready, aren’t we?” Lydia was smirking at him from where she was leaning on the doorframe.

“Damn, Lyds. I’m not a werewolf, I don’t have supernatural earing. What’s with you all and not ringing the doorbell?”

“Where would it be the fun in doing it? You are one of the last I can surprise like this; I don’t want to ruin my fun with a doorbell.” She stated, going to sit at his desk, “Maybe one of these days I’ll barge in to see something interesting,” she winked at him.

 “Yes, yes, all making fun of the fragile human,” he muttered, going back to fold his clothes into the bag, “You’ll see…Ehi, what do you mean, something interesting?” he spun around again to face her.

“Don’t worry Stiles, everything in its own time,” she answered mysteriously. He was about to ask more, but she cut him out.

“So,” she continued, “Show me what you’re bringing with you!”

“Are you going to criticize everything and completely change my clothes choice, aren’t you?”

“Probably,” she smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes but took out everything he had packed carefully in the last hour and started to show her his choices. She nodded, frowned, made faces and sounds of every kind and that’s how they spent the evening. Lydia at a certain point moved from the chair at the desk to the bed, getting comfortable between his pillows.

That’s how the sheriff found them, arguing on t-shirts, pants and jeans. Stiles with wild hairs and Lydia with her usual nonchalant behaviour.

“Hi sheriff,” she said to him with a smile as Stiles greeted him with a hand wave, “Hey dad”

“Hi guys, getting ready for the trip?”

“Yes, apparently Lydia doesn’t approve of my wardrobe choices so she’s making me change everything.”

“I bet she has a point,” his father chuckled at his pouting face.

“Listen to your father, Stiles, he too thinks I’m right,” she said, straightening up and stretching a little.

“Are you staying for dinner Lydia?” the sheriff asked kindly, “We can order some take out.”

“I have to see Allison and Cora later, I just came to bother Stiles in reality,” she answered getting up and putting back on her shoes.

“Nice to hear that you came here because you like my company,” Stiles said sarcastically. Lydia patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.

“I don’t know where I’ll be without you, my hero,” she told him mockingly, and he snorted shoving her lightly.

“Go away, you ungrateful child.” He said back, turning his face away with a hand on his eyes.

“I’m not entirely sure I’m okay with letting you leave to England right now,” his dad told him rolling his eyes and heading for the stairs.

“Oh don’t worry, Stiles is a perfect pack mom, he will take care of everyone. And we’ll take care of him,” Lydia reassured him with a smile and a brush of her hand on his arm on her way out. His father laughed, with a fond and knowing look directed at Stiles, and Lydia waved goodbye to both of them.

Stiles blushed a little at that. He wasn’t the pack mom. Yes, he liked to take care of the other pack members, to make sure they could go to him if they needed anything. He made sure they were all well fed. That was what their weekly dinners were for, other than pack bonding of course. They were his family now, outside of blood ties, but his family nonetheless. After seven years, that was the only logical thing they could become for him.

But he wasn’t the pack mom. That would insinuate he had some sort of relationship with the pack dad, and that was Derek, because hello, Alpha here. And now Stiles wasn’t thinking about him and Derek as the pack mom and dad. He wasn’t thinking about them in a relationship that wasn’t the one they were in now. Friends. On the right way to family. Nothing more. Stiles knew it and was happy with that. Or tried to be happy with that. He was fine with how things were now. They were steady, the pack finally found his balance. Stiles found his balance after all that happened. Peter, Alpha pack, Nogitsune, Werejaguars, the Hale’s leaving, the Dread Doctors, the coven, the Hale’s coming back, college and so on.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear his dad asking him if Chinese take-out was okay, and he just nodded unconsciously, going to the living room and throwing himself on the couch.

He sighed and listened to the TV show that was now on, and to his father wandering around the house. The food arrived in no time, they ate it chatting about idle things and Stiles flopped back on the couch after doing the dishes. He was dozing off when his father shook him and sent him upstairs to sleep. He muttered something about not being a kid anymore, but complied anyway.

His room was a mess, but he was tired so he piled his clothes on the desk chair and the bags on the floor next to it. He then fell face first in the mattress and he was asleep before even realizing it.

 


	5. 2.2 - London Calling

Stiles slept like a log, but he wasn’t rested when he woke up the next day. It was really early. Like six in the morning early.

He got up and had a light breakfast, trying to not make too much noise and wake his dad before his daily shift. He decided to go out for a run instead of lazing around the house.

The air outside was fresh, the sun still hiding low in the horizon. A orangey light was dusting the sky, making it more and more bright by the minute. Stiles found himself heading towards Derek’s loft, his feet going to their own accord sweeping those streets he knew so well.

He ran in front of the Hale’s building, turning to face it and wondering if Derek was still asleep, or if he, too, was up so early. Maybe he went for a run like Stiles.

He kept running anyway, thinking that if Derek was out for a run, he probably went to the preserve, to let his wolf free for a while before having to keep it confined in unknown territory for two whole weeks.

He finished his run, jogging back in his street as the sun was starting to cast his yellow, warm light on the houses of his street. He must have run for forty minutes or so, just in time to prepare some breakfast for his father.

He went inside, toeing off his shoes by the door. He could hear the water running upstairs, sign that his father was showering. He went to the kitchen, washed his hands and turned on the coffee maker. He was whisking the batter for the pancakes when his father came down in the kitchen.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Stiles in the kitchen, but recovered quickly and went to sit at the counter.

“Hello, son.”

“Hey-o daddy-o,” Stiles answered pouring a cup of coffee and setting it in front of him. He then took off a plate from the cupboard and put it next the stove. He cooked a few pancakes and some slices of low-fat bacon and served them to his father. He was hungry now, the smell of food getting to his stomach. He prepared a plate and a cup of coffee for himself too.

“What are you going to do today?” his father asked when he sat next to him on the counter.

“I’m going to iron and fold all the clothes that Lydia chose for me yesterday and get my luggage ready for tomorrow.”

“Which time it’s the flight again?” he father asked sipping his coffee with a satisfied hum.

“At one p.m. but we’ll be leaving around 9 from here. We have to get to LAX at least at eleven.” On a good day it took around an hour and a half to get there from Beacon Hills, if they made it in that time an half an hour more in the airport won’t kill them.

“Right. And which time will you be there?”

“Around seven a.m. of the day after. Here it should be around eleven p.m. of the same day. It’s eight hours to add to our time,” explained to his dad. He had researched everything, nothing left to the chance.

“It’s going to be exhausting adapting to that and then have to come back here and readapt in such a short time,” his dad commented.

“Yeah, jetlag is going to kill us combined with the time change. But I think it’s worth it,”

“I bet,” his dad snorted and stood up to put in the sink his plates.

“I’ll come by the station later to bring you lunch, okay?” he said to him as his dad was putting on his jacket.

“Thanks, but something that isn’t just vegetables.”

“I’ll think about it,” he stood up as well and went to was their dishes. “Have a nice day at work dad. And try not to get in trouble,” he added with a smirk directed to his father.

“Yeah yeah, later Stiles,” his father waved at him, shaking his head at his son sarcasm, and went out for his day.

Stiles was left alone, the only sound in the house was the water running as he cleaned the dishes, the rhythmic rub of the sponge on the ceramic and his soft breathing. As soon as he finished, he went upstairs and put on some music to keep him company while he, finally, got his luggage ready.

His morning passed like that, ironing, folding and putting it in his bag. The carry-on one was small enough that he fit in the other one and left some space to stick in last time things.

At lunch, he went to the central and ate with his father and Jordan, who was there for his last shift before the trip. They talked about nonsense and Stiles stay for a while after lunch, helping his dad with a few cases that may have something to do with supernatural creatures. The sheriff was still reluctant to share details of his cases with Stiles, or any of the others that didn’t work with him, but he didn’t want something like the Darach thing to happen again. So usually, he talked to Stiles when he had some suspicions on a case, because he was the one that seemed to be more informed than anyone else. He didn’t like it, but he had to. His kid was even more prepared than the Argents about supernatural creatures, and that said a lot.

Around five Stiles said his goodbyes to his father and his colleagues, saying that he had to go grocery shopping. He went to the nearest supermarket and started piling healthy things for his dad, at least to cover a few days of his absence, knowing that Melissa and Scott will keep an eye on him for Stiles.

He was walking around the meat section, selecting some low-fat cuts that he could stash in their freezer and some pack of turkey bacon, when he saw Derek filling his basket with different kinds of meat, carefully choosing each one.

“Are you going to feed an army with all that meat?” he asked approaching the werewolf.

“I’m shopping for Cora, you know how she gets if left to her own devices,” Derek said, shoving a few other packages of meat in the basket and turning around to face Stiles. “For your dad?” he asked pointing at Stiles’ basket.

“Yes,” he said heading to the fruits and vegetables, Derek in tow, “My father is even worse than Cora. Can you imagine if they ganged up? It would be a hell of red meat and deep fried everything.”

Derek frowned at the thought and grabbed lots of vegetables and fruits, and Stiles did the same, but in smaller quantity. They talked a little about the trip and about trivial things, then Stiles remembered that his father had told him to mention to Derek and Scott about the strange cases that had been reported lately.

“I was almost forgetting about something,” he said, grabbing some oranges, “I have to talk to you about something that my father said to me…are you free after this?”

“Yes,” Derek’s voice was serious and he was totally focused on Stiles, “You can came over and stay for dinner if you want.” He proposed.

“Yeah, okay, my dad’s at the station until late anyway. I have to drop by to take him his dinner, but I can stay.”

“Probably Peter and Cora will join us, should we call Scott and ask him to come too? I guess what you have to tell me is something he has to know too.”

“That might be a good idea, and yes. Since he will be taking your place for these two weeks it’s better if he knows.” Stiles agreed.

“Stiles,” Derek pinned him with his worried green eyes, “Is this something I have to worry about? It’s better if I stay here and Scott goes with you?”

“No, Derek. Don’t worry. It’s nothing major nor something that our Scotty can’t handle.”

“Fine.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Stiles said with a reassuring smile, “I better head home now and get something ready for my dad’s dinner. Which time do you want me to come?”

“You can come when you’re finished with your dad’s dinner. You can take it to him from my loft, it’s nearer than your house anyway.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll send you a text when I’m coming.”

“No need, you have the keys, let yourself in. I’ll hear you anyway when you’ll arrive.”

“Oh…okay. Later, then.”

Stiles spun around so quickly that he almost did a 360° twirl. His ears where red, and his heartbeat a little fast. But come on, Derek The Sourwolf Grumpy face McGrumps had just said to him that he can let himself in at his place without having to worry about tell him first.

Get a grip Stiles, he told himself. This means nothing, come on. He is just being…well, Stiles didn’t know what Derek was being right now, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He had to go home, cook something for his dad, take a shower and go to Derek’s. And let himself in at Derek’s. With the keys that Derek gave him. Other than Cora and Peter for emergencies, Stiles was the only one with Derek’s apartment keys.

Stop thinking about this, Stiles.

He went to the counter and paid his things, bagging them and going home quickly.

He checked that everything for the day after was ready, when he was sure he went to the kitchen and cooked some pasta with vegetables for his dad, adding some little cubes of prosciutto and cheese to make him happy. He put it in a lunch box, along with a banana and a few strawberries. A light meal that could be eaten cold was perfect for tonight’s dinner, Stiles thought.

He gathered his things, it was almost seven and Scott shift at the veterinary clinic ended at eight.

He decided to go anyway, he can start updating Derek on his father’s suspicions and they could order take-out for when Scott was coming.

The ride to Derek’s was quiet and quick, Stiles jittery nerves for the impending trip were starting to get to him. Despite the fact that what he and his father had talked about was something small and partially just suspicions, Stiles felt the worry and anxiety creep inside him at the thought of going away, even if it was just for two weeks.

His grip on the wheel tightened as he was parking, but he released it with a heavy shuddering breath.

He got out of the car taking his dad’s dinner with him and entered Derek’s building. He decided for the stairs, as he almost always did. But tonight he needed the extra movement, like this morning when he went running. The few flight of stairs eased his jitteriness a little, but his hands were trembling lightly as he fumbled to unlock Derek’s door.

As he opened it, Derek was there, standing up a few feet from it, like he could feel Stiles uneasiness. And he probably could, if the worried pose his eyebrows had was telling something.

“Stiles are you okay?” he asked stepping towards him with his hand reaching for him.

Stiles brain went fuzzy, and he started breathing heavily. Then his breath was ragged, he couldn’t suck in enough air and he realized he was having a panic attack.

His first thought was why. And the second please not in front of him. He had to prove that he was strong he was worthy. He was their emissary now, he could let something like this happen. He didn’t even know what caused it right now, but he wanted it to stop.

As thoughts like this clouded his mind, his breaths became shorter and shorter and he couldn’t bring himself to calm down. He thought he was going to pass out there, when a strong pair of arms wrapped around him and Derek’s voice, strong and calm, guided him through his breathing. In, count Stiles, out and count again.

Derek’s warmth was keeping Stiles grounded. His eyes shut firmly and his lungs working hard to make him breathe again. All he could feel was Derek’s warmth and his voice in his ear, whispering softly yet strongly at him.

When he started breathing somewhat normally, Derek eased his hold on him, but Stiles’ hand were holding tightly his t-shirt, so he couldn’t move far away from him.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said with his head bowed, not wanting to see pity in Derek’s eyes. Not wanting to see that look that said ‘You are a fragile human and there’s nothing you can do to change it.’

Derek’s hand came to rest under his chin and lifted his face up.

“Stiles,” he said sternly, “what are you apologizing for?”

“I…”he exhaled, fighting the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him again, “I just, you know, don’t want to be weak. I’m partly human, but I’m stronger than this. I…”

“Cut the bullshit, Stiles. We both know that this isn’t being weak. You know how many times it happened to me after the fire? You think it’s something that happens just because you are weak?”

“But, I…”

“No, just shut up. And breathe now, please. If I hear you say again that you are weak just because you had a panic attack I’m going to rip your throat out.” He raised an eyebrow at him, “With my teeth.” He elongated his fangs to prove his point.

Stiles laughed at it, the last traces of panic evaporating from his system, and Derek’s fanged smirk was too pleased with himself to make Stiles doubt that making him laugh was his intent.

Cora choose that exact moment to come in, with Peter in tow, finding them sitting on the floor. Stiles’ hands were still on Derek’s t-shirt and he still had one hand on Stiles thigh and one on the junction between his neck and his shoulder.

At Cora raised eyebrow and Peter knowing smirk, Stiles untangled himself from Derek and stood up quickly, a light blush appearing on his face.

Derek turned around and headed for the couch, but Stiles could swear that his ear were slightly pinker than usual.

Cora was looking at him waiting for an explanation, but he shrugged and shook his head, trying to make her understand that he didn’t want to talk about it. She must have understood because she just tilted her head and followed his brother, flopping graciously beside him.

Peter was still smirking but he too didn’t say anything, he just went in the kitchen and grabbed the take-out menus. Stiles was still hovering around the door, a little bit dazed, when his phone chimed bringing him back to reality.

‘Dinner break at eight. Got something to give you, talk to Derek.’ Was a message from his father, and Stiles imagined more news about his suspicions. He sighed and checked the time. It was almost eight and he still hadn’t talked to Derek about this.

“Okay,” he said clapping his hands and sitting on the carpet, his back resting on the armchair like always. “So, my dad has his dinner break in less than 15 minutes, he has to give me something that I suppose has to do with what I have to talk to you to.”

“If you want I can go bring your dad his dinner and collect what he has for you,” Peter interjected from where he was sitting on the other armchair.

“You would?”

“Yes Stiles, Cora can come too if you two need some alone time to talk about this.” He said smirking.

Derek growled slightly at his direction and that made Peter’s smirk even bigger.

“Peter just grab the food and go. Cora you can stay, it’s pack business and you are going to stay here in Beacon Hills so it’s better if you stay and listen. Scott will be here later to talk about it, too.” Derek said sharply.

Peter got up without a word, grabbed the food and his keys and was out of the door in a mere minute.

Derek was now sitting on the couch and Cora had moved on the carpet and was sitting next to Derek’s feet.

“Talk Stiles,” she said with the same concerned-angry voice that Derek still had most of the time.

“Well,” he started, “I went at the station today to have lunch with my father and he showed me some of the cases he is working on and that he thought might have something to do with the supernatural.” He paused looking at them with something that he hoped was calm.

“Most of this cases have something to do with the area around the Nemeton,” he blurted out and Derek’s eyes darted to his right away, “but I looked at the files, and it’s everything pretty harmless.”

“How can it be harmless but be reported at the sheriff’s station?” Cora asked, a line of concern between her eyes.

“Because it was something like people waking up at the feet of a tree with no clothes nor clues of how they got there. My father didn’t even know they were talking about it until he went on the preserve to check. They thought someone had drugged them and robbed them. My dad has run the routine test and checked everything, but nothing seems strange except for the fact that they wake up there.”

“Just that?” Derek gravelly voice asked.

“No. My dad said that when he went in the preserve with Jordan to check if something was going on, like some gang of idiots running around the wood and drugging people, they found the Nemeton surrounded by animals, and that the trees were green and much more alive than the rest of the forest. They found another person there, that’s how they understood that it was the Nemeton and that something supernatural was going on.”

“I don’t know if we can leave right now, this might be something serious. What if the Nemeton is taking life force from this people to help some kind of druid like it did with the Darach?” Derek voice was resentful now, pained and angry.

“I don’t think it’s like that,” Peter voice came from the doorway, Scott behind him waved at them with the hand that wasn’t carrying take-out bags. Peter was handing them a paper envelope.

Stiles took it with his brow furrowed and turned it upside down on the coffee table. A series of photos came out. Looking at them, Stiles could say that they were photos of the Nemeton, but it wasn’t the stump the he knew.

This Nemeton was completely grown, his wood brown and strong, green leafs on his branches. The central part of the tree was arranged in a way that left a space in the middle, like some kind of alcove that the nature had carved there. It was beautiful. One of the two photos was older than the other one, and turning it around, Stiles could see that it was from before he was born.

“That’s Talia handwriting,” Peter said pointing at the photo that Stiles had turned upside down, “she was the protector of the Nemeton at that time. I think she took that photo.”

“So this means that the Nemeton is probably going back to his right form? It will be again a protection for Beacon Hills and his pack?” Cora asked, watching reverently the photos.

“Yes, I think so. Now that there is a new Hale pack to protect it, it probably feels safe enough to grow like this again. Scott and the others should keep an eye on it anyway while we are away, they could report anything strange and we’ll be back as soon as we can if needed.” Stiles said, looking at Derek.

The werewolf had tensed at the mention of the Nemeton and even more at the mention of his mother, but he relaxed at Stiles’ last words and glanced at him gratefully when he gave him the oldest photo.

“While I was out I went to retrieve Scott and while we waited for the take-out to be ready your father briefly explained what was going on. Now I think we should eat.” Peter said, grabbing the bags that Scott had left on the kitchen counter and taking them to the living room. “Thai for everyone, no need to thank me,” he added dropping them of the coffee table.

Stiles rolled his eyes, Peter knew how much Derek and Cora hated when he ordered Thai without giving them the chance to choose what they wanted. But strangely, one of their favourite foods was always ordered anyway.

They ate like they were starving, and probably for the werewolves was true due to their metabolism, but Stiles did his best too.

They talked a lot about the Nemeton, their theories about it and Scott promised to be careful about every little change that might happen and to keep the updated daily. They kept talking for a while after dinner but it was getting late and they had to wake up early tomorrow and Peter had already went back to his apartment, so Stiles and Scott said their goodbyes and went too.

When Stiles got to the door, he turned to Derek that was gathering the empty boxes of food in a plastic bag, walking around Cora’s sleeping body on the carpet.

“Derek,” he murmured lowly enough that only he could hear him. Derek’s head snapped up to look at him, “Thank you for earlier. And for not telling the others…I…” he stopped and Derek mimed slicing his throat with his fingers. That managed to make Stiles smile again. “Thanks,” he said again, softly, “Good night.”

“Good night, Stiles,” Derek answered with a soft smile of his own, one that Stiles was seeing so frequently lately to get him addicted. He waved and went out closing the door behind himself. Scott was probably wondering where he was. He ran down the stairs and got to his car grinning widely.

Scott was about to ask something, but he apparently changed his mind because he just shook his head and said, “I don’t even want to know.”

Stiles took him back at his place and by the time he was shutting down the engine of his jeep, his father’s cruiser was slowing down in their driveway. They got in together and after a few reassurances, they bid each other goodnight and went to bed.

As Stiles closed his eyes, his last thoughts were about the fact that tomorrow at this time he will be arriving in a foreign country.

He couldn’t wait. London was calling and he couldn’t wait to answer.


	6. 3.1- Sharing is...scary?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hotel is real, but the suite is completely made up. As lots of things will we, because I live in Europe, yes, but unfortunately not in the U.K.  
> If something's wrong, feel free to tell me so I can fix it :)

The ride to the airport was quick and sleepy; Stiles practically didn’t even notice it. Scott was driving them in a minivan they rented for the morning. He was chatting quietly with Jordan and their voices were lulling Stiles in his daze. He was resting his head on Derek’s shoulder; his hand shook him lightly when they were entering the airport parking lot and Stiles straightened up, rubbing his eyes.

As soon as he was out of the car, he stretched his limbs and helped the others unload the car on the luggage carts. They said their goodbyes to Scott who had to be at veterinary clinic before noon, and they went to their separate ways. They wandered for the airport, looking for the desk where to check their luggage, and after founding it, standing in line and going through all the procedure, they were left with another hour to spare. Luckily the gate for their flight opened in around fifteen minutes, so they all went to grab a quick bite before boarding.

The flight was uneventful, Stiles, like everyone else, spent the most of it napping and reading. They ate something light around eight, supposedly dinnertime for them, but really early morning in the European side of the world. After that all was very fast, they landed, had their passports checked and claimed their luggage. In the arrivals area Jackson and Danny were waiting there for them, with an older man and a woman that was probably a little older than Derek was. Her long curly hair were almost white, her skin a light gold and her eyes a mix of the blue of the sky and the lightest of greens.

She introduced herself to them as the Alpha of the pack and her name was Danae. The other man was her emissary, Remus, as Stiles as suspected. He had a kind smile, dirt blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Derek and Danae exchanged a few words while they went to the car, minibus this time, and Stiles took advantage of that time to talk with Remus and try to find something about him and the other pack.

Remus was reserved and calm, and told Stiles a few things about their meeting plans, but not much more.

They loaded everything on the car, and then headed to the centre of London, where their hotel was waiting for them. From the Stansted airport to central London was about a seventy-five minutes ride, and throughout all of it, Derek and the other Alpha kept talking, joined by Remus. Stiles was sitting next to Lydia and Allison in the back seat of the bus and from time to time, he could feel their eyes glancing at him knowingly. Trying to divert their attention, Stiles looked at Jackson and Danny, that were in the seat in front of them, and were half turned towards them. They were talking about something Stiles wasn’t paying attention to, Lydia and Allison giving their input once in a while. Stiles eyes fell at their tangled hands and he smiled thinking about how different Jackson was from when they were at school. He had grown a lot in his years in the U.K., both physically and personality-wise. When he came back to Beacon Hills when their high schools years were over, he was almost someone else. He and Stiles talked about a lot of things, and now Stiles felt protective towards him like, if not more, he felt towards the rest of the pack. He played the cupid for him and Danny, and was the first one to be happy for them when they announced that they were going to England to study there. They were a strong couple, and a really cute one at times.

Jackson smiled back at him when he caught his eyes, the ghost of the smirk he used to address to Stiles when they were younger lingering there, like his trade-mark.

They stopped and when Stiles got out of the car, his jaw dropped in front of the beautiful hotel they would be staying in.

Lydia had told him that the other pack had took care of the expenses of their staying, knowing about the fact that they wanted their space as a pack, but Stiles didn’t thought that they would go to this length to please them.

They were in front of The Shard. Stiles knew that around the 30th floor there was a hotel, a beautiful one. All big rooms with ground to ceiling windows and a breath taking view. It was in the centre of London, near the London Bridge, so in the heart of the city.

Lydia elbowed him friendly to take him out of his reverie, and he shook himself taking out his bag from the trunk. He looked at Derek and saw that he too was a little overwhelmed by the magnificent building in front of him.

The real problem though, came when they got to the reception. Jackson had took care of the reservations with Lydia, and they had booked two double rooms and two single ones. Apparently the single one were for Peter and Jordan, while Lydia and Allison would share a double and the same would do Stiles and Derek. It wouldn’t have been that much of a problem, if not for the fact that one of the double rooms had a queen-sized bed instead of two separated ones. Lydia and Allison had already took possession of the keys of the double room with separate beds, so Stiles and Derek not only had to share a room but the bed too.

He turned to face Derek, and his eyes went wide seeing that Derek had already taken the key of their room and was waiting for him with an unreadable expression. Even his eyebrow weren’t telling anything to Stiles, and that was proof enough of the strangeness of the situation.

Stiles sighed, glaring at Lydia and Jackson, than they all said their goodnights and went for the elevators. Jackson and Lydia had practically rented a floor for them, like a mini-flat inside the hotel. There was even a small kitchen and a small common area. This area joined the two suites that they were occupying, with three rooms on one side and one the other. The rooms on the left were one double and the two singles, leaving the queen-sized bed one at the opposite side of the suite.

Nice, Stiles thought sarcastically, even more space between the rest of the pack and me and Derek. It’s going to be easy for him to murder me and hide the body.

Stiles was actually aware that Derek wouldn’t do such thing at that point of their relationship, friendship to be exact, but he didn’t know what two weeks in close quarters with the Alpha could bring out. Or bring back, for what mattered.

His train of worried thoughts stopped as they exited the elevator and stepped right inside of the common area of their suite. Stiles was met with an entire floor made of wood, some of it covered by soft creamy-white huge carpets. Two big light brown couch with a set of matching armchairs were positioned on one of the carpets, all around an oval glass coffee table. If this was the premise, Stiles couldn’t wait to see the rest of the suit.

They all dragged their luggage in tiredly, helped by a person from the hotel staff. Stiles kept watching with amazed eyes the small but beautiful and full furnished kitchenette at the other side of the suite, thinking about cooking something there for everyone and lazing around after on those beautiful couches. They seemed so soft and comfortable.

The hotel guy told them which rooms was meant for everyone, and with a last smile he was out of the suite, leaving them to their devices.

“I think we should sleep a little,” Lydia said, exhaustedly taking her suitcase towards her room.

“Not too much, though,” added Allison, following her, “We’ll end up messing our sleep schedule otherwise.”

“Well it’s almost nine,” Stiles interjected, “what about two hours and then we can go and have a walk, find something to eat or something,”

“Fine with me,” said Jordan, followed by Peter and Derek’s nod.

That said, they all headed for their rooms and Stiles could feel the nervousness creeping back into his bones. For god’s sake, he was sleeping on Derek’s shoulder on the way here, this won’t be something _that_ different. He momentarily forgot about his nerves at the sight in front of him.

The room was gorgeous. The big, oh-so-tempting bed stood on the right of the door, with a some sort of couch thingy at the feet of it. The colour of the couch fabric matching perfectly with the bedspread and the quilt. The soft creamy colours seemed to be the signature of this suite, and they were present everywhere in their room, only a few darker items in the furniture broke the colour pattern. The bedside table was of a dark brown, as well as the two chaise longue that stood forming a triangle near one wall of windows, with a small glass table the feet of them.

The view from there was amazing. London was in her full awake mode and Stiles already loved it, but his eyes were closing on him and he needed some sleep. He turned back around and checked the rest of the room. Yeah, it was really beautiful.

There was even a wardrobe at the left of the door, and Stiles though that could contain surely his and Derek’s clothes for the whole stay and have some space left too.

Speaking of Derek, he was sitting on the small couch, his case open at his feet and he was looking for something in the middle of the neat stash of clothes and things inside it. He took out a t-shirt and a toiletry bag, setting them next to him and standing up. Stiles gaze fixed on him as he toed off his shoes and got out of his jeans, his strong, muscled legs in full display for him.

Derek’s gaze caught his, and Stiles cleared his throat, bringing his case next to the closet and opening it there, quickly taking out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He wasn’t going to sleep in the same bed with Derek without having pants on. Well he would have like to have no clothes on in bed with Derek, but that wasn’t something he should think about now that they were heading to sleep. Together. In the same bed.

“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Derek said, “Or do you want to go first?”

“No, go ahead,” was Stiles quick response.

He heard the door of the en-suite closing softly, so he stood up, changing himself quickly and folding his used clothes, leaving them on top of his case. He then went to the bed, sitting on top of it and waiting for Derek to ask him which side he preferred. He was fumbling with a little remote he had found on the bedside table, and at some point shutters started to come down slowly, covering the walls of windows.

He pushed another button and they stopped, leaving the room half lit. Derek came back from the bathroom and raised a questioning eyebrow at him and Stiles just shrugged.

“I’ll go use the bathroom now, choose your side freely,” he said, managing a smirk directed at Derek.

He visit to the bathroom was quick and when he came back, he found Derek already under the covers on the right side of the bed. It made his heart miss a beat. Derek had his eyes closed but Stiles knew that he wasn’t asleep yet.

Stiles moved quietly anyway, and when he sunk in the freshness and softness of the bed, every muscle, bone and fibre in his body said thank you.

“Can I turn down the shutters a little more?” Derek’s voice was almost a whisper from beside him.

“Of course,” Stiles said as quietly as he had. Derek shut them almost completely, leaving just a hint of light in the room. Stiles could feel the warmth coming from the body next to it, but he was so tired and comfortable that his brain refused to think about anything else that wasn’t sleeping.

Stiles remembered to set the alarm before falling asleep, luckily. He even managed to send a text to his dad through almost closed lids, before completely falling in Morpheus arm’s.


	7. 3.2 - Here comes the sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to be as accurate as I can, but I haven't had the time to visit all of London the few times I went there +.+

When Stiles’ alarm woke him up he wasn’t even near to be rested, but he knew that he had to get up. The first thing he registered, after having a talk with his brain about getting out of the bed, was that the line of warmth that Derek’s body wasn’t just because they were sharing the bed but because they were practically glued together.

During sleep one, if not both of them, had probably moved around and now Stiles was lying on his side practically in the middle of the bed, facing the Alpha, and Derek was lying right next to him, his arm brushing Stiles’ one and his breath caressing Stiles’ forehead.

Stiles felt oddly shorter than Derek in this position, even though he was a little higher than him when standing. It was like Derek was curled around him, invading Stiles’ space without really touching him, without being all over him. Stiles watched him sleep for a few seconds and thought that probably he wouldn’t have minded if he woke up with Derek all over him. It would have been awkward, but this was too.

He scooted slowly backward and turned on his back, rubbing his eyes with a heavy sigh.

He turned his head back to Derek and prodded his arm trying to wake him up.

“Ehi, dude…” he prodded some more, “Come on Derek, I know you’re awake, let’s get up.”

“You get up first…” Derek grumbled in a raspy voice that sent a thrill through Stiles’ spine, “Go shower, or whatever”

“Are you trying to tell me that I smell?”

“No, I’m just telling you that if you don’t let me sleep a little more I’m going to kick you out of the bed myself.”

Uh, grumpy pants was back. Stiles chuckled at the sight of Derek trying to bury his face even further in the nest of pillows and blankets, but got out of the bed anyway.

Getting out, he got a flash of Derek’s body lying there, all soft and warm with sleep, but firm and appealing as ever and a burst of arousal go through him. Derek shifted slightly, but Stiles couldn’t tell if he had smelled it or not. He tried to suppress his train of thought about Derek’s hot body as he grabbed his toiletry bag from his case and closed the bathroom door behind himself.

He rested his back on the closed door, his head thudding against it as he tried to push out his arousal trough a deep exhale.

He brushed his teeth and then took a shower, a slightly cold one, because he couldn’t bring himself to have a completely cold one. He hated cold. When he got out of the shower he realized he hadn’t brought his clothes with him, so he wrapped a towel around his hips and went back to the room.

He found Derek in only his boxers, bent down in front of his open bag, his ass in full display for Stiles. Thanks so much for making worthless that cold shower.

Derek must have smelled him this time, because he straightened up right away, grabbing the things he was setting on the small couch and fleeing to the bathroom. Their eyes met only for a brief second, when Derek walked beside him and his breath caught slightly. Stiles knew he was probably blushing a lot right now.

The door of the bathroom closed and Stiles moved to get dressed before Derek got out and found him still there and half-hard. Half-hard just for seeing that glorious ass presented to him in tight boxers.

It’s just the first day, Stiles thought, I’m doomed.

***

While he was waiting for Derek to get out of the bathroom, Stiles had got dressed and started to put his clothes in the hangers and in the drawers of the closet. There were two drawers, he had took the upper one and put there all his socks and underwear, his chargers and his emissary emergency stash. His clothes were now hanging on the left side of the wardrobe, leaving enough space for Derek’s on the right side.

As he was putting his empty bags on top of the closet to get them out of the way, Derek came out of the bathroom and someone knocked at their door. Stiles turned his head to Derek, finding him completely clothed and heading to open the door.

Lydia was standing there, dressed to the nines, but comfortable enough to spend the day walking. A pair of light jeans, comfy shoes, a long sleeved blouse and a jacket on her hand. Stiles could tell she was tired, but he also could see how much see was beaming with excitement.

“Are you two ready to go?” she asked entering the room without being invited.

Derek rolled his eyes and let her be, finding his shoes and putting them on.

“Yes, Lyds, just give me a sec to get my backpack ready,” Stiles said to her, already sticking things into his bag and taking out others he had there from the night before. After a last mental check on the things he needed, he glanced back to Lydia, to find her gone. Derek on the other hand was still there, watching Stiles with an amused look.

“She said she was making sure the others were ready too,” he said, standing up “But I think you were too busy blabbing to yourself about maps and wallets and key cards to notice, so she just went”

“Oh,” Stiles said grinning and reaching for the door, “I’m ready now, we can start this adventure!”

Derek just shook his head at him and pushed him outside the room, but it was more a playful shove than a real push. Stiles turned his face towards him and pushed out his tongue. Derek just lifted his eyebrow.

“Careful Stiles,” Peter voice came from the kitchenette area, “He might bite it out.”

Derek glared at Peter pleased smirk, but Stiles ignored them both and swallowing an ‘I’d let him’ before it got out of his mouth.

Looking around he saw that everyone was there, ready to go out, so he clapped his hands and they all looked at him.

“Okay, I think we could have a walk and eat something when we find a place that we like,” he told them, “Unless you already know where you want to go to eat or just were you want to go in general. I just thought that for today we could spend a little time together just walking around. I left today free in the itinerary, just in case”

They all agreed to the plan and got to the lobby in a few minutes, the glass walls of the elevator giving them the chance to appreciate once again the beautiful view of the city.

When they got out of the hotel, a beautiful sun stood high above them, the sky clear, with just some cotton candy clouds here and there.

They headed to Tooley Street, towards the London Bridge, strolling lazily and admiring the architecture of the buildings surrounding them. They walked in front of the Southwark Cathedral and Derek stopped to take a few pictures, then they went up a small staircase and found themselves on the London Bridge itself.

Stiles was amazed, he just got out from the hotel room and he already was seeing wonders. He was sure that small tunnel they passed through to arrive here was the one of the fifth Harry Potter movie, the Dementors scene. Everything around him was particular and as they kept walking, passing the bridge and turning on Lower Thames Street, Stiles could help his eyes from darting everywhere, trying to capture every detail. Derek must have felt the same, because Stiles, that had never seen him with a camera in his hands, was now the one that most often waited for him to finish taking his shots.

It was nearing one and they were all hungry when Parrish spotted a Pret a Manger and they all agreed that was time to eat. The sandwiches here where different from America apparently, but there was no Pret a Manger in Beacon Hills so Stiles didn’t knew what the difference was, he knew only that they looked really tasty.

He red all the sandwiches targets, curious of how many of them were there. He’s undecided between an egg-mayo-somekindoflettuce sandwich (there are two in the package and it’s very cheap) and a chicken bacon baguette that looks really delicious. He ends up buying both of them, opting to keep the sandwiches for later. He grabs an apple on his way to the register and pays everything. When they all have something to eat they head outside, looking for a place to sit, eat and enjoy this warm sunny day in London.

They find a spot of green, the Trinity Square Gardens, and sit there. They can see the Tower of London ahead of them, and Stiles itches to visit the place. He booked the tickets for the visit for himself, Lydia, Allison and Derek, and they will be going there in a few days.

They are sitting in some sort of circle on the grass, and they take out their lunches and start to eat with big smiles on their faces. Well, most of them has big smiles. Peter is smirking as always, even though he seems more relaxed, and Derek has a small, happy smile gracing his lips.

Stiles unwraps his baguette and he can’t hold back a moan at the first bite of it. The bread is crisp, the chicken and bacon mix together perfectly with the sauce and Stiles is in heaven. He is going to eat as much as he can of this divine creation while he is here. He opens his eyes, that had closed spontaneously at the burst of taste in the bite, and is met with Lydia amused face. He looks around him and sees that Peter’s smirk has got bigger – if possible – and Parrish is now lying in the grass fully. Allison is chewing her sandwich with a face that matches Lydia, and Derek has his head bent forward, but Stiles can see that he is scowling slightly as he chews his meal. He doesn’t understand why he is scowling, but right now he needs to let them know how delicious is his baguette.

“Guys,” he says, catching their attention, “This is amazing. You have no idea how good is this. It’s just delicious. The most delicious thing I have ever tasted. Well, except from curly fries, but nothing beats the curly fries!”

Peter scoffs, Parrish, Lydia and Allison laugh at his words and Derek is watching him amused, but with a strange glint in his eyes.

“Let me have a taste,” he says to Stiles, bending towards him.

“What? No,” Stiles answers, moving his beloved food away from Derek and frowning at him.

“Just a small bite, come on Stiles,” he says, now smirking and moving closer, and Stiles is starting to get confused, because he would like for Derek to bite him, not his baguette. Pun unintended.

“No, don’t come closer, bad wolf,”

“Sharing is caring, Stiles,” Allison sing songs, he turns to her with a raised eyebrow and is distracted for the second that Derek needs to close the distance between him and his baguette and takes a bite, wrapping his hand around Stiles’ to keep him still as he does it.

“Allison!” Stiles says, disbelief in his voice, “You betrayed me, the evil wolf ate my food!”

“Well, you’re right, this is really good,” Derek says, and his voice is so close to Stiles that when he turns around to face him with all his fury for his stolen bite, he finds Derek’s face so close to him that he can see clearly the golden specks in his green eyes.

He jerks his head back, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he glares at Derek and pouts. Derek’s hand is still wrapped around Stiles’ and his food, it’s soft and warm, and Stiles wants to entwine their fingers.

Then Derek his getting close to take another bite and Stiles snatches his hand from him.

“My lunch.” He says, like a caveman, “My lunch, me eat. Bad wolf,” he repeats for good measure.

Derek chuckles at him and goes back to his lunch, a salad thingy, but doesn’t move from his spot next to Stiles. As they eat Stiles can feel their legs touching now and then, when he or Derek move a little to get comfortable on the hard ground. It’s distracting, but nice and Stiles enjoys it now that he can. Probably by the end of the week, Derek is going to hate having him around this much.

He finishes his meal with a sigh and flops back to look at the sky, his hand landing next to Derek’s one that is supporting him. He loses himself in the clear sky, letting his head roam, thinking about the memories that this trip will create for him, and he can say that he already has a lot of good ones, even if they are here just from this morning.

He is brought out from his reverie by Derek’s hand, that caresses his and then bumps their knuckles.

“Ready to go?” Derek asks, pushing himself up with the hand that just now was touching Stiles’.

“Y-yeah, ready,” he stuttered out.

He sat and before he could push himself up, Derek’s hand was again in front of him. He took it and Derek hoisted him up, their chests almost touching for a brief moment. But Derek let his hand go and turned around towards the others, walking away and starting to talk with Lydia.

Stiles straightened, saying to himself that he was an idiot and telling his heart to stop beating like this. They were friends, just that. Derek wanted nothing more, and probably Stiles’ continuous arousal and heart rate changes around him were already getting to him, judging by the way that he had stalked away from him.

He knew that touching was something natural for pack, but Derek hadn’t ever been really touchy-feely with Stiles. Lately, though, he was always in Stiles space, trying to make some sort of contact. Maybe was because now Stiles was their emissary and Derek recognized him more as part of the pack, more like the other weres.

Stiles surely wasn’t complaining, but it stung a little that the only reason Derek would touch him was because he was pack, not because he wanted to touch him for real.

He pushed away the sad thoughts. He was in London, he was here to have fun, not to brood about gorgeous Alpha werewolves that didn’t like him back.

He grabbed his bag and his little pile of garbage and joined the others, smiling widely and wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shall we go?” he asked.

“We shall,” answered Lydia with a nod, so he took her and Allison by the arm making them laugh and they started walking again, with the others following right behind them.

They circumnavigated the Tower of London at a slow pace, admiring it by every angle. When they reached the Tower Bridge, Stiles’ heart missed a beat and his breath caught in his throat. It was simply beautiful. With its white and light blue fences, its towers and its arcs. And Stiles was speechless in front of it, walking ahead in a daze, his head turned up like a child and his mouth open.

They walked through it, stopping now and then, taking pictures. When they got down Stiles turned back to watch once more, as if his eyes couldn’t give up the sight just yet. Lydia and Allison kept walking with him, until they stopped just after the end of the bridge.

“It’s almost three,” Lydia said, “I think we should head back to the hotel to rest a little more before dinner. Jackson and Danny are joying us.”

“I think that maybe Danae and Remus will join too,” Derek added, sounding almost sheepish. Something twisted painfully inside of Stiles at the tone of his voice.

“All right then, let’s go back,” he said, “Better be well rested for dinner with her majesty,” he added sarcastically, taking out his phone to guide them back to the hotel. Derek scowled at his sentence, but he didn’t gave him time to talk, starting to walk ahead of the others and signalling for them to follow him.

He pretended to be focused on the map on his phone all the way back to the hotel and when they got to their suite, Lydia and Allison kidnapped him.

He sat on the bed and in front of him stood Lydia, hands on her hips and a frightening glint in her eyes. Well, frightening for Stiles at least.

“Talk,” she said, before sitting in the armchair next to Allison. Now they were both in front of him, waiting for him to spill his guts.

“I can’t,” he said pointing to his ear and then to the door, searching a way to escape this unwanted interrogatory about he didn’t even knew what.

“Yes, you can,” Lydia said, smirking, “This entire suite is werewolf proofed. We can talk about whatever we want and they can’t hear. Unless they open the door, or we leave it open. Otherwise they can’t. they have normal human hearing here.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, saying goodbye to his last chance of getting out of here quickly.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to talk about,” he tried then.

“Stiles, don’t take me, us for fools. You, Derek, the queen comment. Everything from the start.” Allison said then.

“Okay, now I really don’t want to talk about it,” he told them, falling back on the mattress not to have to look at them in the eyes.

“Get on with it,” Lydia said. Her voice said that if he didn’t started talking right away, he would have suffered pains from hell in the immediate future.

“All right,” was Stiles sighed answer, before getting up from the bed and going to sit on the carpet between the two of them. He stretched his legs, getting comfortable with his back resting on the armchair where Lydia was, and he felt her hand brush through his hair for a brief moment.

He looked up at her with a short nod and prepared himself for the lots of questions that were coming his way


	8. 3.3 - Maybe not that impossible

Lydia and Allison kept him in their room for more than an hour, asking all kinds of questions. They asked about the night before, about sharing the bed with Derek, being in his personal space for a whole night, about his newfound touchy-feely mood. They asked how he was coping with it, if he had any intention of doing something about it. Like tell Derek that he wanted him pressed on the first surface available, hands everywhere and mouths connected. That was Allison suggestion, and Stiles shouldn’t be surprised after all this years, but he was a little scandalized by the gestures that followed that sentence.

Lydia nodded, completely agreeing with Allison, but Stiles just flipped them the bird. He wasn’t going to do something, because there was nothing that can be done. They were friends, fine by him. That’s what Stiles told them and in exchange he got two sets of eye rolls so emphasized that he wondered how their eyes didn’t got stuck in the back of their heads.

When they started to insist on the topic though, Stiles asked for mercy, firmly stating that he didn’t needed this right now. He wanted to have fun and create good memories here, not to disrupt the whole pack balance to please his hormones.

Lydia was about to call him out on the ‘just hormones’ bit, but she relented and changed topic.

So they passed from him and Derek to the other pack. Or at least, who they had met of the other pack. The Alpha and the emissary.

“Doesn’t he look like Remus from Harry Potter to you? He even has the same name,” Allison asked at a certain point, with her nose a little scrunched up at her own words.

“Yeah, I thought the same. But that would be surreal.” Stiles said, shaking his head.

“Maybe he is an acquaintance of J.K. and she included him in his book, which would be cool.” Lydia stated, stretching up her arms and hiding a small yawn behind her hand.

“If you are agreeing with this crazy train of thought, you are really tired,” Stiles laughed a bit at her, checking his phone, “It’s almost five thirty, we got plenty of time to have a nap. Sleep well,” he said with a smile, standing up and going out of the room.

No one was in the common area and Stiles went to the kitchen for a glass of water before heading to his room. His and Derek’s room, where he will be probably be napping half-naked, his brain supplied with a voice that resembles suspiciously Allison’s.

Damn, Allison. Get out of my brain.

He entered quietly, not knowing if Derek was asleep or not. He found him lying on his side in one of the chaise lounge next the window wall opposite to the bed, the shutters closed just at half of their length. The sun light was streaming in, but the room wasn’t flooded with light.

The warm orange light illuminated Derek’s body, just his face wasn’t touched by it. Stiles realized that was something calculated, Derek had probably wanted to fall asleep there, watching the city move in front of him as the sun came down, keeping him warm.

Derek didn’t woke up as Stiles closed the door behind him, careful to not make noise. This meant that or Derek was extremely tired and couldn’t bring himself to wake up, or that he trusted enough his pack, Stiles, to know he could relax around them that he didn’t need to be vigilant all the time.

He smiled at the image the older man made. His brow relaxed no sign of worry on it. His hands curled up near his body, as well as his legs. Even though the chairs looked really great, Stiles thought that maybe they weren’t all that comfortable to sleep in. For the second time that day, he decided to wake up Derek.

Instead of prodding his arm like he did this morning, Stiles crouched in front of him and took advantage of the sleeping state of the wolf to slide a hand through his hair, then resting it on his shoulder.

“Derek,” he whispered, shaking him lightly, “Come on, move to the bed to sleep. This chair can’t be that comfortable,”

“Don’t want to,” Derek mumbled, like a child, scrunching up his face, clearly still sleeping. Stiles smiled at the cuteness.

“Stand up, fluffwolf, you don’t want to be al achy later,” he said still whispering, trying to hoist him up to a sitting position.

Derek exhaled and sat, his eyes barely open, and Stiles slid his hand into Derek’s, tugging him up and taking him to bed. He curled up under the covers and after a little shuffling, he threw out his pants, settling on his side. It was strange; have to do with a Derek that pliant, still cocooned in his sleepy haze. He seemed so young and Stiles wanted to get in bed and curl up around him and protect him from everything.

Instead, Stiles went to the bathroom to wash his face, pee and change into something more comfortable, trying to decide if he wanted to sleep or if he should stay awake to avoid fucking up his sleeping schedule. He wanted to sleep, he needed it badly, but when he got out of the bathroom, he was still undecided.

(Un)fortunately for him, when he got back to the room, Derek made the choice for him. As Stiles was walking near the bed after setting his clothes on the couch, Derek’s hand shoot out from the covers and dragged him there.

Stiles was now being turned around with his face towards Derek’s neck, and Derek was getting all comfortable around him, curling his arm around Stiles’ middle, bringing him close to him. He hummed, pleased, when he found the right position, tangling one of his legs with Stiles’ and resting his head just above his.

Stiles was frozen in place, trying to understand how they got from barely touching to practically spooning in bed.

“Sleep Stiles,” said Derek grumbling voice, and Stiles could feel the faint vibrations of it on Derek’s neck, where his face was almost pressed. Stiles breathed deep, trying to calm down, and it worked. Derek’s smell was amazing, all sleepy and strong, and Stiles found himself breathing it in as much as he could.

His hands moved from the cramped position between his and Derek’s chest, and he tentatively rested one on Derek’s hip and the other near his bicep, that was under Stiles’ neck.

Derek relaxed even more and Stiles smiled secretly, pleased by it. His breaths now were at pace with Derek’s, Stiles fell asleep listening to the soft, almost inaudible, thuds of his heart.

***

When Stiles woke up, outside was almost dark. He found himself on his other side, Derek’s arm still curled safely around him, his body pressed to his from behind.

The first things Stiles notice though, wasn’t the absence of light, but the fact that Derek was awake and was softly rubbing circles through Stiles’ hair with his fingers.

“You awake for long?” he asked, trying to not let the awkwardness of the unusual intimacy get to him.

“No,” Derek’s voice came from behind him as soft as his fingers were on Stiles’ scalp, “I woke up a few minutes ago, just trying to reciprocate the favour you did me earlier…”

“Uh?”

“Waking you up without giving you a heart attack,” he said, “Thank you for making me sleep here, I would have regretted it, werewolf healing or not,”

“No worries,” Stiles said, almost purring to the fingers still carding through his hair, “If you keep doing that though, I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave the bed,” he continued.

From Derek’s side came a strangled noise and with a last gentle brush, his hand disappeared from Stiles’ head. And the rest of his body moved away from his. Stiles felt the bed dip and the heard Derek footsteps wandering around the room.

He turned and saw him stretching, and his mouth watered a little at the sight. Derek caught his eyes and smirked lightly.

“I’m going to take a shower, you?”

“What?” Stiles brain cells turned off completely.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Derek repeated, “I’ll be quick if you have to take one too,” he added nonchalantly.

“Oh,” Stiles was now blushing for the train of thoughts, “Uh, mh, yeah, as you finish I’ll go,” he blabbed.

Derek smirk grew larger, showing a hint of teeth and heading to the closet.

Stiles’ mouth was dry and he was struggling to ignore his half-hard cock. It demanded attention, and with the way Derek was walking around the room searching for his things, muscles flexing and bed hair, Stiles was sure he was on the good path to become fully hard in mere seconds.

He could relieve himself while Derek showered, or while he himself showered. Lydia said the rooms where anti-werewolf hearing after all. But just the thought of Derek’s naked body under the shower sent a rush of arousal through his dick and Stiles knew he couldn’t wait to be in the shower.

Derek stopped at the bathroom door, turning his face sharply towards Stiles and inhaling deeply. His eyelids fluttered, and Stiles blushed even deeply, realizing that Derek now surely knew what he was thinking to do while he showered. He was watching Stiles with intensity, and when he smirked at him again, it wasn’t with malice, but more like he was flirting with him. Stiles with a strange burst of boldness returned the smirk, licking his lips.

Derek’s fangs made a short appearance in the smirk, but before Stiles could react, Derek had already closed the bathroom door behind himself.

He was so hard right now. Has he heard that the water of the shower had started running, he reached for his pants, fumbling to push them down together with his underwear. He couldn’t even care if he dirtied the covers, he would ask to change them at the reception later.

His fingers where cold on the hot skin of his cock, and Stiles shivered at the first touch, tightening his grip on the hard flesh. He brushed his thumb over the tip and the first moan was ripped from him, pleasure building fast in his lower stomach.

Parts of Derek’s body flashed in front of his closed eyes - the way he Stiles wanted to be touched by him, Stiles wanted him to touch him, let his hand roam all over that beautiful body and rip moan after moan from Derek’s lips. He moved his hand faster on his shaft, his thumb and index circling the head tightly from time to time. He wiped over his slit, using his pre-come to make his movements slicker. He stifled his moans in his fist, but some of them made it out anyway. A high pitched one came out as he was almost coming. He heard a thud and a small growl came from the bathroom and with a final squeeze, the knowledge that Derek knew what he was doing and that he probably was doing the same made him come, sending white stripes all over his stomach and hand.

The water in the bathroom stopped a few minutes later, when Stiles had regained his breath and was reaching the tissues on the bedside table to clean himself up. He cleaned up quickly, afraid that Derek might come out of the bathroom at any moment and find him with tissues covered in his own come still in his hands.

He put his pants back up and a few other deep breaths later he got out of bed. He went for the closet; tissues stuffed deep in his pants’ pocket, and took out of it the outfit Lydia suggested he put on for dinner. He was choosing between a black pair of dress pants and a black pair of skinny trousers to go with the shirt. It was a [simple black shirt](http://c.mobofree.com/m/5/5433951d5665ed9d438b4568_1024x768/Fashion-Solid-Button-and-Chain-Design-Shirt-Collar-Three-Quarter-Sleeve-Slimming-Cotton-Shirt-For-Men-Health-and-Beauty-For-sale-at-All-Nigeria.jpg), three-quarter sleeves, three white buttons at the end, two at the top and a faint silver chain to join the two in the Korean collar. He was a little monochromatic, but he felt like it right now. Smart, but not overdoing it for this kind of dinner. He was saving the best for the dinner with the whole other pack.

Derek came out of the bathroom, glancing quickly at him, his ears getting redder as he approached the bed to set his sleeping stuff on it. Stiles darted to the bathroom before he could embarrass himself any more than that, knowing that probably the smell of his orgasm was still in the air.

He showered, brushed his teeth and combed his hair, then got dressed. He had just to put on his shoes, but those were still in the room. He gathered his dirty clothes and checked his hair one last time then got out of the bathroom. Derek was nowhere in sight, so he put on his black shiny shoes and put his dirty clothes in the small hamper next the door. He had to ask at the reception if they would come up later, to re-do the bed and take away their dirty clothes.

He locked the closet, exiting the room and finding Peter, Derek and Jordan sitting on the couches in the common area. The girls got out of their room as Stiles did.

Lydia’s wore a [dress](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/2b/4f/ba2b4fe7a13ff31a151c68660c1053ae.jpg) of a petrol blue shade, made mostly of lace. The sleeves arrived just before her elbows and the skirt at mid-thigh. She was beautiful. Allison on the other hand [was wearing](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8e/d7/56/8ed75682836d206c64690cbf3d289937.jpg) some kind of black coverall that left her sides uncovered, as well as part of her back and her arms. Three gold thick golden bracelets adorned her left arm. She looked badass, really badass.

“Here are all our girls,” Peter said, grinning at him.

“Ah-ah, very funny,” Stiles said sarcastically, “Are we all ready?” he asked giving a once over to the boys.

Peter was [wearing](http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Ian+Bohen+Arrivals+MTV+Movie+Awards+4+qBbu0lCBp-Il.jpg) all grey, a t-shirt, jeans and a jacket. [Jordan](http://assets.myntassets.com/v1/images/style/properties/Pepe-Jeans-Men-White-Linen-Semi-Fit-Pekkos-Casual-Shirt_a961a4a4f292421adf780e2593253eda_images.jpg) just a white shirt and jeans, comfortable and charismatic as ever.

Derek was wearing a [purple sweater](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c9/b7/30/c9b730c60c4fb2904f19f6f8f4091816.jpg) with thumbholes and black jeans. It was smart enough for the occasion and Stiles wanted to eat him up, starting with his thumbs. He looked so soft, at the same time so…oh God, Stiles just wanted to push him back in the bedroom, lock the door, get his hands on him, and never stop.

“Let’s go,” said Lydia, putting her phone back in her small purse, “Jackson just texted me, they are on the way, the table is booked under Hale, so we can go ahead.”

She grabbed Peter by his arm and Allison grabbed Jordan, leaving Derek and Stiles to share a brief look.

“After you,” Derek said to him, bowing a little in a mocking gesture, but smiling nonetheless.

Stiles nodded, smirking and pushing his hands in the front pockets of his trousers and making a show of entering he elevator, knowing too well how those pants fitted his ass. It was a test, and it gave Stiles one of the many answers he was looking for.

He heard Derek make a strangled noise. Derek was attracted at least by his body, and Stiles couldn’t take off his face the smirk nor chase away the pleased feeling in his belly at the newfound knowledge, all the ride down to the hotel’s restaurant.

Maybe seducing Derek wasn’t completely impossible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll put here the link for the clothes I described, because I don't know if I put them right inside the text XD
> 
> Stiles: http://c.mobofree.com/m/5/5433951d5665ed9d438b4568_1024x768/Fashion-Solid-Button-and-Chain-Design-Shirt-Collar-Three-Quarter-Sleeve-Slimming-Cotton-Shirt-For-Men-Health-and-Beauty-For-sale-at-All-Nigeria.jpg
> 
> Lydia: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ba/2b/4f/ba2b4fe7a13ff31a151c68660c1053ae.jpg
> 
> Allison: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8e/d7/56/8ed75682836d206c64690cbf3d289937.jpg
> 
> Peter: http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Ian+Bohen+Arrivals+MTV+Movie+Awards+4+qBbu0lCBp-Il.jpg
> 
> Jordan: http://assets.myntassets.com/v1/images/style/properties/Pepe-Jeans-Men-White-Linen-Semi-Fit-Pekkos-Casual-Shirt_a961a4a4f292421adf780e2593253eda_images.jpg (I couldn't find him dressed nowhere, he is always naked. Always.)
> 
> Derek: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c9/b7/30/c9b730c60c4fb2904f19f6f8f4091816.jpg


	9. 3.4 - Dinner with a Khaleesi. And her Khal.

The restaurant was at the 35thlevel, a few floor beneath them, and the ride in the elevator was sort and filled with electricity. They were all excited about the dinner, to talk with Danny and Jackson about their lives here and to discover something more about the other pack.

Stiles was a bit jittery, but in a good way.

They entered the [restaurant](http://www.ting-shangri-la.com/) and Stiles was pleased to see that it was simple, elegant and really comfortable. It was beautiful. The floor was all made of wood, the windows covered every wall, like in the rooms, and the place was furnished with small round and square tables, white tablecloths and fine china, a candle in each, cellars of wine on the inner walls. It was possible to see the Chinese influence in the interior.

Derek told the waiter at the entrance their name and he led them to a table at the end of the restaurant. It was perfect for the ten of them. Round, with a white tablecloth and porcelain plates, like the other ones, but in a certain way, it seemed less formal than the rest of the room. Around it, there was a separè to give them some privacy, and Stiles was grateful for that.

They sat and started chatting about nonsense, and a few minutes later the others arrived. Derek, being the civilized person that hardly showed up near his pack, stood up and went towards them to shake their ends. Danny and Jackson got two similar half hugs and happy smiles. Derek smiled to the other Alpha, and they flashed their eyes at each other with acknowledgment. Remus though wasn’t with them, Stiles noticed with a hint of disappointment, but next to Danae was a man that was now introducing himself to Derek as Jon, Danae’s mate. Stiles eyes went a little wide at the word mate, but the erased the thought from his mind, standing up as they approached the table.

He smiled widely at Danny and Jackson, hugging them strongly because this morning he was too tired to do it, and then turned to shake Danae’s hand and introduce himself to her mate. Uh, that sounded so strange in his head. But extremely right, in some sort of way.

“Jon,” the man said to him, shaking his hand with a friendly smile, “I’m Danae’s mate,”

“I’m Stiles, the Hale’s pack emissary,” he answered smiling back at him, “In training,” he added with a smirk.

Jon was a little shorter than Danae, with black curly hair and a light scruff. His skin was almost as white as Stiles’ one, but he had much more scar on it then him. Stiles could see them on his arms, where the sleeves of his Henley were rolled up, and on his neck.

They sat back at the table, and Stiles couldn’t help himself to ask how come Remus wasn’t there with them.

“I though Remus was coming too,” he said, “I was looking up to hear his stories. I think I have a lot to learn from him,” he added with a smile.

“He traded his place for mine,” Jon said to him, “I was curious to meet you all as soon as possible, so he stayed with the rest of the pack. We have some new members that need guidance, and he is the best for it.”

“That’s good,” Derek said, “the emissary of the former Hale pack used to do that too. He helped me a lot when I was younger, right after my family died.” He paused for a second, taking a breath and smirking; “Now though, we are in our new emissary’s hands,”

Stiles looked at Derek smirking back at him, happy that he was acknowledging him as their emissary in front of the other pack. Not in training, but their formal one. It practically was, but Stiles was still unsure of it, like they could take it from him at every given moment, so he wasn’t giving it for granted.

When they will be back in Beacon Hills there will be some sort of ceremony, with him, Deaton, Derek and Scott. That will make it official. It seemed though that for Derek and the others it was already like that.

Two waiters arrived, one carrying the menus and the other with small baskets filled with bread slices.

Each of them got a [menu](http://www.ting-shangri-la.com/menus/ting/dinner/), and as Stiles opened it he realized that he had no idea of what half of the things listed there were. (Like the poor author – nda)

He opted for (quoting from the real menu of this restaurant – nda) Hand dived scallops as a starter, creamy mash potato and French fries as a side, beef short rib as a main and tropical chocolate as dessert. His choices were based mostly on the names, more than in knowing what the plates were.

The others seemed more at ease than Stiles, but when Stiles caught Allison’s eyes, they shared a confused look. At least he wasn’t alone in his ignorance.

They ordered and fresh drinks arrived a few minutes later. Wine and water placed on the centre of table, inside their ice buckets. A waiter filled their glasses and Stiles curiously took a sip of wine to taste it.

It was strong, but good and he enjoyed the taste of it on his tongue.

Random discussions started at the table while waiting for the food and they got the occasion to star knowing a little more about their hosts. Apparently, Danae’s family, the Clarkes, was of ancient lineage, and she was a born werewolf, like the Hales. Her brother had died in his manic search for power, and now she was the Alpha of the pack. Jon instead was a bitten werewolf, and he was the bastard son of an important family. He said it as if he didn’t care much about it, and Stiles believe it, because his expression was fond while talking about his family.

Stiles liked him, and was starting to like Danae too, in spite of his first thoughts about her.

But probably that was because she was too friendly with Derek, his Allison voiced brain supplied. Oh, shut up, Stiles said back to his brain.

His internal debate with his inner-Allison was interrupted by the arrival of the starters. The plates were beautifully created and he took a picture of his own to put it on Instagram later, and to send it to his father and Scott.

The dinner went mostly that way, chatting and eating. After Derek stole something from Stiles plate, Stiles did the same. They bantered and sometimes Stiles could swear that Derek was subtly flirting with him.

And subtle isn’t an adjective that Stiles uses frequently with Derek.

After dinner, they decided to go out for a drink and called a cab, to take them to a place that Danae and Jackson seemed to agree, would be perfect to end the night. The pub they went to was called ‘The moon underwater’ and was in Leicester Square. Stiles liked it very much. The atmosphere was good, the place nice and the hale even better.

They stayed there until around midnight, after all it was just Monday, and called two cabs. They said goodbye, making plans with Jackson and Danny to see them tomorrow, and telling Danae and Jon that they were welcome to join them whenever they wanted.

Stiles was pleased with himself when he managed to not make a face at the hug Danae and Derek exchanged, and was polite enough to exchange one with her too. He knew she was taken, but he couldn’t suppress totally the jealousy for the way Derek seemed so relaxed around her.

When the cabs arrived, they divided and went back to the hotel. Stiles could feel the tiredness in his bones, but at the same time, he was still jittery and buzzed by the alcohol and the night.

***

When they got to their rooms, Stiles went straight for the kitchen to check what was in the cabinets and in the fridge and what he needed to buy, if he wanted to cook something there.

There were lots of fresh fruit and all he might need to make pancakes, and he was planning on doing them the next morning for breakfast. He sat down for a while on the counter, feet dangling and elbows resting on his thighs. He counted the hours on his fingers, since here was almost one in the morning in Beacon Hills must be around nine. He decided to call his father and talk to him for a bit.

He opened whatsapp and sent him a message asking him if he was free for a quick chat. He was proud of how his father had embraced technology. Or well, at least whatsapp and skype during the years he was in college. The sheriff’s answer arrived a few minutes later and an incoming call from his father’s skype appeared on Stiles’ phone.

He answered right away, asking his father how he was doing and how things were in Beacon Hills. His father mocked him for his worrying, since just a day had passed, but assured him that everything was all right.

They talked about Stiles’ day and his impressions on the other Alpha, her emissary and her mate. His father did his same face at the word ‘mate’, but didn’t comment on it. He asked about the others and his father asked him too, wanting to know how their living together was going so far.

Scott was doing great, but he already missed them, the big puppy he was. Stiles told his father to give all of them a hug from him, and to say that he will be sending photos of everything to keep them updated.

Stiles showed him the common areas of the suite, doing a slow long walk near the windows to let see to his father the beautiful city at night-time.  When his father asked him to show him his room, Stiles said he couldn’t because probably Derek was already sleeping (not because he didn’t wanted his father to see the bed that he and Derek were sharing, not at all). His father raised his brows at that, and before he could stop himself Stiles found himself talking about the shared rooms and the single ones, how they all were beautiful etc etc. He was babbling nonsense mostly.

“Stiles,” his father’s voice said and he stopped talking to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“There is something you need to tell me?” his father’s face was serious, but Stiles didn’t know what he might be referring to, so he didn’t answered. That seemed to be the wrong choice because his father’s changed from serious to angry.

“Are you two together?” his dad’s face was getting angry when he asked, and Stiles couldn’t help to blush like a schoolgirl thinking about the possibility.

He almost dropped his phone at the question, realizing he hadn’t put on earphones and regretting the decision, since okay werewolves-proofed walls, but you never know.

“What?” he said in a high-pitched voice, “We are not sleeping together. We are just sharing the bed. The room, I meant.”

“Stiles you know I’ve got no problem with you liking boys, but he is older than you and if he does something bad to you I’m going to arrest him. Again.”

“Dad. We are not together. I swear, now could you please stop talking about it?” he groaned hiding his face with his hands. Probably Derek and Peter had already heard everything and Stiles wasn’t ever going to survive to this.

His dad rolled his eyes when he shook his head at him with an incredulous face.

“I’m not dumb, Stiles. I’m the Sheriff here, if needed I can charge him with whatever I want and no one can say anything,”

“DAD.” He said again, “Thanks, there’s no need though. There’s nothing going on between us.” Then he stopped, ‘Yet. It depends on what might happen tonight,’ his head said.

“All right,” his father said, apparently pleased.

“I’m 23 though, if I wanted to date him I could. And you know he is a good man under all that dark brooding,” he told him just to be contrary, but he wasn’t lying. He would have liked a lot to date Derek for like, forever.

“Stiles…” his father had a warning tone and Stiles rolled his eyes.

He was almost answering with a ‘What happen in London stays in London…and possibly in Beacon Hills’, but someone knocked at the door on his father’s side before he could say anything.

His father excused himself and when he came back a few seconds later, he told Stiles that he had to go, ‘duty calls,’ Stiles answered chuckling and they said goodbye.

Stiles sighed, rubbing his palms on his face and shaking his head at the conversation that just happened between him and his father. He really hoped Derek hadn’t heard it.

He hopped down the counter and headed to his room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that the door wasn’t completely closed, so his hopes of Derek not hearing were probably shattered completely.

Maybe he was already sleeping when Stiles called his dad. Stiles doubted that, but you know, it was a possibility.

Stiles took a big breath and pushed the door softly to not make noise, but it revealed a useless precaution because Derek was sitting under the covers with a book in his lap and the bedside lamp on.

As Stiles closed the door Derek’s eyes were fixed on him, his book closed in his hands and his expression unreadable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used Emilia Clarke's surname for Danae, because I thought that using Targaryen was a bit too much XD  
> I'm mixing a couple of thing here, because I like the characters and I thought they might fit. Or that I'll make them fit.
> 
> Here the links for the hotel, you can see the rooms, the view and everything about it. I bent some things in my favour, but took inspiration from it.
> 
> http://www.shangri-la.com/london/shangrila/
> 
> This is the menu, I based my choiches on the à la carte one.
> 
> http://www.ting-shangri-la.com/menus/ting/dinner/


	10. 3.5 - Not what I was expecting

“I need to talk to you about something regarding the pack,” Derek says, turning around to set the book on the bedside table.

“Yes,” Stiles said. This wasn’t what he expected but he was afraid of what it might be.

“Go change if you want,” Derek told him, moving the covers and getting out of the bed, “It might take a while.”

“Yes,” he said again, like he was on repeat. He grabbed quickly his things for the night and went to the bathroom to change. He tried to be as quick as he could, nervousness about what Derek wanted to talk about making his movements clumsy.

He went out and set his things on the small couch, heading for Derek that was now sitting in one of the chaise lounge. He sat on the other one and waited for Derek to talk. He was staring at the view outside, his eyes were focused but seemed lost into something to Stiles.

“I was thinking,” Derek’s voice interrupted the silence, and Stiles focused completely on him, “about asking Jackson and Danny if they want to change packs.”

“What?” Stiles’ voice was shocked, and he couldn’t help the question from getting out.

“It’s just that,” he suspired looking down and knitted his fingers together, like he didn’t know what to do with his hands, “They are so happy here and I know that practically the Clarkes pack it’s like their own. I never gave them the same, so it’s only fair if I give to them this possibility.”

“But,” Stiles started, but Derek’s hand raised at mid-air, stopping his sentence.

“No buts, Stiles, listen to me first.” Derek seemed so tired all at once.

“Okay,” he said quietly.

“You are my – our emissary, that’s why you are the first I’m talking to about this. I need your opinion, but I want you to hear mine first.”

“I understand, I’m listening,” he said placing his hand on Derek’s shoulder and making the old man watch him. He smiled at him reassuringly, and Derek smiled back, a small, thankful smile.

“So,” he started again, turning his face to the windows, “I want to ask them because they are living here from a long time now, and we live on the other side of the planet. That means that their pack is far from them, it weakens them and makes them feel lonely. Or at least that’s what the wolf feels, like it’s been abandoned.” He glanced briefly at Stiles before shutting his eyes and resting his head on the chaise.

“They have friends here, and a pack that has practically been their family since they arrived. The opposite of me. When I turned Jackson I was reckless, I wasn’t thinking about the consequences and I’ve really been there for him and Danny just for the past couple of years.”

“That’s not true Derek, it’s been a lot more than just a couple of years, and you’ve been there for all of us” Stiles’ voice was soft as he said that, not wanting to interrupt Derek but needing to tell him this.

Derek looks up at him again, and his eyes are a little bit wide and surprised. He shakes his head and closes his eyes again.

“I don’t know if I should believe you,” he tells him, “I know you are not lying because of your heartbeat, but I’m not sure I can anyway.”

“You’ll see.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should ask Jackson and Danny what they want to do about this pack migration,” he snorts at his own words, “And their answer will prove my point.” He states then, serious again.

“I think it would be a good thing for them. Danny isn’t a werewolf, but being Jackson’s mate created a bond even stronger with him and the pack, so it’s like he is one.” Derek continues, “They should have an Alpha that is always there for them, not in another country. I know it’s not something unusual, but…”

“Derek,” Stiles interrupts him, with his left eyebrow raised and a small smile playing at his lips, “Don’t tell me that in reality this is because you miss them,”

Derek blushes but scowls at Stiles, crossing his arms in a defensive pose.

“Of course I do. I’m their Alpha and they are in a foreign country were I can’t protect them as my instinct asks,” he answers, “But it’s not just that, I explained to you why I want to do this.”

“All right,” Stiles said, sitting more comfortably in his chair, “When do you want to ask them?”

“Before asking I’ve got to talk to Danae, her mate and their emissary. We have, to be honest.”

“We? You mean I have to be there?” Stiles asked

“You are our emissary, Stiles,” Derek tone is exasperated, but fond somehow, “How many times do I have to tell you? This is a pack issue, so you have to be there by my side to be my advisor.”

“Well, technically this trip is my last ‘test’,” Stiles said, making air quotes, “before doing the official ceremony. I don’t want to assume that I’m fully accepted as your emissary before that.”

“Well you are, so shut up about it and let’s start organizing this.”

“Your wish is my command, Alpha,” and that probably comes out a little bit more flirty than Stiles had planned. Derek seems to catch it, by the way he closes his eyes for a brief moment and then stares back at Stiles, his knuckles white where he is gripping the chair tightly and his eyes sparkling with what might be lust.

His inner Allison is dancing at that, telling him ‘I told you so’, as he tries not to read too much in this. Derek might be attracted by him, sure. This doesn’t mean that he is going to do something about it, especially if he heard Stiles previous call with his dad.

To break the strange moment Stiles stands up to get his itinerary and the little journal he brought with himself. When his thoughts are too much for his head, Stiles likes to pour them there and he thought it was a good idea to bring it with him, if case he wanted or needed to write something down.

He had put it together on his own, mixing a planner, a journal and a sketchpad. The latter was to have white paper to rip when he needed to jot down some notes more than for his artistic skills. He needed the planner to keep track of the full moons and the pack’s meetings and progresses. He had used one when he was in college and it had proved to be pretty helpful, so he continued with it.

All in all was a bit thick to carry around, but he didn’t care as long as he had all he needed with him.

He sat back again, ripping a sheet from the sketchpad and setting in on top of the planner as he closed it. Everyone had seen Stiles with his planner, taking notes at a pack meeting, writing or doodling under a tree while the other trained, but Derek seemed surprised to see it, like it was something new.

Stiles laid down in front of him the itinerary, but Derek couldn’t see it from where he was sitting, and emissary or not, Stiles wasn’t a secretary.

“I think it’s better if we move on the bed for this,” he said to Derek, trying not to blush and to keep his mind free from dirty things.

Derek just nodded at him, a glint of something in his eyes, stood up and went to sit on the bed. Stiles was starting to feel a little cold, even if they were in April and the temperatures were warmer than expected in London, staying still in a room with just a t-shirt and thin sweatpants wasn’t the ideal. He decided to cover at least his legs when he sat down on the bed, and his cold feet thanked him for that. Derek was sitting in front of him, his legs crossed and his back resting on the low backrest of the couch at the feet of the bed.

Once again, Stiles took out his itinerary and Derek’s one, and passed Derek his own.

They started talking about it and the only day they were both free was Thursday, and Stiles noticed that Friday they would be going together to visit the Botanic Gardens. Just him and Derek.

“I think we should has them if they want to go out in the evening, so after we talk about it we could have dinner with them and Jackson and Danny.”

“What if they aren’t okay with them joining their pack?”

“Then we’ll have dinner all together. I’m not going to start a feud if they don’t accept. They’ve already done a lot for us; I’m not demanding anything…” Derek said rubbing his eyes.

“Okay then, I think we are settled, I’ll contact Remus tomorrow to let him know and see if they are free.”

“Thanks Stiles,” Derek voice was a little raspy, and Stiles couldn’t tell if it was because he was sleepy or because of sadness about this.

“Let’s go to sleep,” he told him, gathering all the papers and setting everything in the bedside table, not wanting to get out from the warmth of the bed.

Derek shuffled towards him, lifting the covers and lying down next to him. There was just an inch of space between them, when Stiles moved to lie down their arms brushed.

Derek turned off the light on his side and Stiles did the same with his, turning around on his other side, facing Derek in the dark.

“Stiles?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you—never mind,”

“Did I what?” Stiles said, searching for Derek’s eyes in the dark.

“Don’t worry, go to sleep, it was just something stupid.”

“Ask it anyway, or I wont’ be able to sleep and I’m going to pester you all night.”

“Stiles,” Derek’s tone was so sleepy.

“Derek.” Stiles’ one on the other hand was warning.

“What?”

“Tell me, now.” He said, pointing his finger at him, knowing that Derek could see him.

“Okay, fine,” he exhaled deeply before asking, “I…I wanted to know if you minded how we were sleeping this evening? You know, me being all…”

“Cuddly?” Stiles interrupted him with a quiet laugh.

“That’s not exactly what I was going to say, but yeah…” Stiles could feel Derek embarrassment even without seeing him.

“If I would have minded I wouldn’t have snuggled up even more, don’t you think?”

“You did? I thought…”

“No Derek, I’m a sucker for cuddles. Whenever you need it, I’m available for it.” He realized his slip as Derek chuckled, getting a little closer.

“You are?” he asked teasing.

Stiles rolled his eyes, “You were the first to cuddle to me, so shut up,” he said pouting.

“It’s my wolf, he needs his pack more than ever now that we are away,” he explained, “And saying that he needs it, I mean that I need it too. We are the same after all.”

“So,” Stiles said smiling, “You asked because you want to…?” he trailed off.

“Yeah, I’d like to…” Derek’s voice was soft as he said it, “Especially after thinking so much about two of my betas leaving my pack…”

“Bring it on then, fluffwolf,” Stiles told him with a grin.

“Never ever call me that again.” Derek said, but he shuffled closer anyway, putting his arm around Stiles “I heard you this evening too, you know.”

“Well I bet that your wolfy self is a really fluffy one,” Stiles told him, settling comfortably under Derek’s arm, “I bet that he likes to cuddle even more than you.”

“You have no idea,” Derek muttered.

“Wait…You can really turn into a complete wolf?”

“I…Yes?”

“For real?”

“I thought you know,” Derek told him, “I managed to turn fully into a wolf last year, when you were…”

“Still at college,” Stiles supplied.

“Yeah,” Derek said.

“Can I see?” he asked, curious to see how Derek’s wolf would look like.

“Not now, I’m too tired to even think about turning around and turn on the light. Let alone fully turn.”

“Maybe tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

That was that, and Stiles fell asleep lulled by Derek’s breaths, just like this evening, with the werewolf cuddled around him.

***

 The day after things weren’t as awkward as Stiles thought would be. Derek woke him up shacking him lightly, and before Stiles could even open his eyes, he felt him exiting the covers and stand from the bed.

Stiles checked the time and decided that he hadn’t enough time to make pancakes today, so they would have to settle buying something when they went out.

Their morning routine went smoothly and by nine thirty they were coming out of their room. Just Allison was there, probably waiting for Lydia. They all sat in the couches of the common area and waited for her. Peter and Jordan had probably already gone out, since their itinerary was different from theirs.

Today they were going to spend most of their time together. At a certain point Allison would go with Jordan to meet the hunters her father had spoken her and Derek about. She wanted to make sure they were okay before even thinking about explaining to them the changes of the code that the Argents were making. Derek, even if reluctantly, had accepted this encounter when Allison had promised him that she wouldn’t mention the pack, neither their nor the one here.

For now though, they were going to see the London Eye, keep walking towards the Big Ben and then wander around St. James’s Park until they got to Buckingham Palace, there Jackson and Danny would join them to go to the Hard Rock for something good to eat and for a stroll in Piccadilly.

Stiles couldn’t wait to see the squirrels. Derek probably couldn’t wait to chase them.

He laughed quietly, getting confused looks from the other two.

He was saved from explaining what was going on in his mind by Lydia coming out of her room.

“I’m ready,” she said with a flick of her hair, “We can go now,” she smiled at them.

“Where the bus stop?” Allison asked Stiles, that was already checking the map.

They booked tickets for the GoldenTours Hop-on-Hop-off bus for different days so they could move quickly between the sections of the city and relax from the walking with a nice guided tour of the most famous places in London.

“It should be number 30, near the Southwark Cathedral.” He answered checking out the map, “We hop on with red, blue or orange line and get down at the next stop, the 31, in front of the London Eye.”

“Good, let’s go then,” Derek said standing up, and everyone gathered his things going to the elevator.

“We should stop by the first Tesco or Sainsbury we see to buy something. Like water and snacks for the day,” Allison suggested.

“Yeah, it’s a good idea. But first, I need coffee,” Derek told her with a grin.

“Bless your words,” she said then and they all laughed a little.

When they got out, they walked to were the Cathedral was, looking out for a Starbucks or something were to get their morning dose of caffeine. When Lydia spotted one, they headed there and bought their breakfast to go.

Near the bus stop, there wasn’t any Tesco nor Sainsbury, so they opted to look out for one later.

They finished their drinks just as the red line bus was arriving at their stop, and got a pair of blue earphones each after showing their tickets. They wanted to go to the upper part of the bus so after talking a little with the guide that was downstairs, Stiles took a map for everyone and they all headed up.

The view was amazing, and Stiles put one ear bud on, selecting the language and listening to the guide for the small part of the tour they were going to see. Derek had today too his camera, and was taking photos of practically everything that caught his eye. Stiles noticed that mostly Derek took photos of buildings.

Their stop arrived soon, so they all hopped off and said goodbye to the guide and the driver.

They walked a short piece of street and, after crossing the road, they were at the back of the London Eye. It was huge, slowly moving with people in every cabin. Stiles had booked a daily ride for the others, but for himself he had booked a nightly one and he was doing it tonight. Before the others got in line, he told them that he would go check for a near market to buy them snacks, so they could do the ride without worrying about him getting bored. He had a map and a phone; after all, he could do it alone.

They all agreed, even if Derek wasn’t all that happy to let him wander around alone, but he didn’t say anything. They all had fast track tickets, so the line wouldn’t be too long. Stiles had more or less an hour and something to spare.

He waited for them to get into the cabin and then waved, searching in his phone where the nearest Tesco was. He found one on Waterloo Road, so he decided to head there. It was pretty simple, he had just to go back from where they came and turn right in front of the Waterloo Station.

He got to Waterloo Road walking calmly, enjoying the scenario around him. He kept walking until he found himself in front of the Tesco and then entered. He bought snacks for everyone, some fruit and water too, because he didn’t want to get fat in London with junk food.

He paid and got out of the shop with two small bags with food to share with the other. Luckily, they all had backpacks or bags.

He was thinking about taking the long route around the station to get back to the London Eye, but he decided that it was better not to try his luck this early in the trip, so he went back from where he came and in ten minutes, he was back in the Jubilee Gardens. He sent a quick text to Lydia to let them know that he was going to look for a place where to sit in the Gardens, not too far from them and to join him there as they finished. Lydia texted him back an okay, with a photo from the cabin attached. They were all making funny faces with London in the background. Stiles wondered how they convinced Derek to take one with them, especially making a funny face.

Stiles took advantage of that moment alone to call Remus and ask him if they all could meet Thursday for a pack issue. The man seemed a little preoccupied by the thing, but Stiles assured him that was nothing to worry about, just his Alpha that wanted to talk to them about something. Remus said to him that he would let him know the time and place during the day, after that they said goodbye and hung up.

When the others got down and joined Stiles in the Gardens, he split the food and water between them, and after that, they headed for the Big Ben and Westminster. Stiles decided to talk to Derek about the call when they will be back at the hotel. No reason to make him sad when he seemed to be enjoying this time of bonding with his pack.

The day went on pretty much like that, walking, taking pictures, eating and stopping around to rest.

When they got to St. James’s Park, Derek told them that the time he was here before he had liked this park the most, because it was full of nature and his wolf felt at home. Lydia and Allison smiled so fondly at him that he blushed a deep red. They took him and Stiles by the arm and started strolling in the beautiful park.

They took photos all together, alone or in pairs, laughed, fed squirrels. Derek growled at Stiles when he dared to ask him if he wanted to chase the squirrels around. It was a mocking growl, that made Stiles and the girls laugh, but at the same time, it sent a rush of heat through him.

They bought lunch in one of the kiosks at the park and ate there while waiting for Jackson and Danny to join them. They all went to Buckingham palace and after that, Allison sent a text to Jordan to know where they could meet. He was near Piccadilly luckily, so they all went to that direction with Allison.

Throughout the whole day, Derek had been closer to Stiles than to the rest of the pack, touching him at every occasion and taking loads of photos, even if for most of them, he thought Stiles hadn’t noticed. Well, he had, but he wasn’t going to complain because he liked how Derek was acting around him. He liked it a lot. He wondered his the others had noticed and concluded that probably yes, they had, even if Derek had tried to be with everyone in the same way, he always ended up next to Stiles.

The rest of the day went by between shopping, more sightseeing and pack bonding, and by the time they were back at the hotel Stiles was so tired that he could fall asleep in the elevator.

His phone decided to chime in that moment. Remus had sent him a text to let him know that Thursday at five was okay for them, leaving to them the choice of the place where to meet. So, not sleeping right away, he had to talk to Derek before.

As the doors of the elevator opened and the face of a pissed off Allison and a Jordan that was trying to calm her down appeared, he realized that the one with Derek wasn’t the only one talk he was going to have now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Golden Tours it's real and amazing. I booked tickets when I went to london and it was amazing taking their bus because I was able to see much more than I could've on feet.
> 
> Other than that, I hate this fic because it's going forward on its own volition and never listens to my ideas. Especially when I have the chapter already in mind and the characters decide to change it as they please.


	11. 3.6 - Pack night, wolfy night

As Jordan saw them, he smiled and Stiles was confused. Why was he smiling if Allison was upset?

Allison though, when she saw them changed her expression in a pout, and to all of them was clear that something had happened, but it wasn’t something bad or that had to do with her encounter with the other hunters.

“Jordan,” Stiles said with questioningly eyebrows, “why Ally is upset?”

“Well,” he said. Or tried, but Allison glared at him and he shut up, hiding a smile with a shrug.

“Come on, Ally, tell us,” Stiles said, sitting next to her, “And after, we can give him the right punishment.”

Parrish’s eyes widened at that, and he started pouting too.

“He fooled me.” She said, sounding a little like a child.

“That’s not true.” Jordan said back.

“Yes it is.”

“No it’s not.”

“Children, stop it and explain, or else no dessert.” Stiles said rolling his eyes at them. And they were even older than him. Derek and Lydia chuckled from their spot on the other couch. They were enjoying the scene, apparently.

“Well he did,” Allison continued, “He asked me if I wanted to go to a shooting range and I said yes, but when we got there we made a bet.”

“Let me guess,” Stiles said, “The best shooter wins and the other had to do what? Go around naked?” he asked sarcastically.

“Not exactly,” Jordan answered with an amused expression, “The loser has to do all the pack chores of the winner, even the ones not assigned yet.”

“Well, he cheated!” Allison said, and Stiles understood that she was the loser. A sore one, from what Stiles is seeing. But it’s not like her, so this time something must be wrong.

“How he cheated?”

“He kept distracting me, talking to me about the meeting we just had,” she said, “and then he pointed out to me that the girl I was checking out when we got in was looking. I watched to see and missed.”

After saying that she pouted even more.

“Oh,” Stiles said now smirking at Allison, “so it isn’t about the lost, but about the girl.”

Allison didn’t answer at that, but Jordan smirked with Stiles.

“She should thank me, you know,”

“And why is that?” Stiles asked

“Because after that girl approached her and gave Allison her number, saying that she was impressed by her skill. She also said that she knew I was distracting her,” Jordan supplied.

“Nice one, Ally,” Lydia said with a wink.

“I don’t think you should be mad at him, you know,” Stiles said bumping her shoulder with his.

“I’m not,” she mumbled, then rolled her eyes and smiled at Jordan. He smiled right back at her.

“Oh, that’s what I like to see, my children all happy and not mad at each other,” he said theatrically.

“And you are the one who denies being the pack mom,” Lydia said to him, shaking her head with fondness.

Derek snorted, “Nothing was more true,” he muttered chuckling.

“Not you too, Derek!” Stiles said, “By the way, we have to talk about pack matters, so I think that we’ll go to our room.”

“That’s what they call it, now?” Peter said coming in from the elevator, “Pack matters?”

“Shut up Peter,” Derek said to him, and punched him in the arm as he got up to go to the room.

“At least the room are werewolf-proofed enough that we won’t hear anything,” he continued.

Stiles groaned and with a flushed face headed to the room, while Derek gave Peter another punch and said to them that they will have to talk about something later.

Stiles is already sitting on the chair as he hears the door closing and Derek’s footsteps coming towards him.

He is still embarrassed by Peter’s comments, but Derek seems in the same situation so probably they’ll just let it go. It’s not the first time that Peter has been an ass about them, but it’s the first time they have to share close quarters after his remarks.

Derek sits down and Stiles sees that he is serious, even though his ears are red.

“I called Remus this morning, when you guys were on the London Eye,” he started, and all of Derek’s focus was on him now.

“What did he say?”

“He was a little bit worried when I told him that we wanted to discuss a pack issue with them, but then I told him not to worry and we talked about when to meet.” Stiles said, “He said that he would have sent me a text to let me know if they were available for Thursday.”

Stiles took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, Derek quietly waiting for him to continue. His nervousness was visible though, especially by the way he was playing unconsciously with his fingers.

“He says that Thursday evening is okay,” he passes his phone to Derek to let him see the text; “We just have to decide where and let them know by tomorrow.”

“We’ll think about it tomorrow then,” Derek says giving Stiles back his phone.

“Yes,” Stiles smiles, “We forgot to ask Allison about the meeting with the hunters,”

“We can talk about it while we eat,” Derek says, shrugging, “We have to tell them about the Thursday meeting too anyway, even if they aren’t going to be there, nor know about what it is until after it.”

“We could have dinner here today,” Stiles suggests, “I could cook something or we can order from the room service.”

“We should cook something,” Derek says, surprising even himself with the plural.

“We as in you cooking too?” Stiles asks, chuckling.

“I’ll let you know that I’m an excellent cook,” Derek says, jokingly.

“Oh, yeah I bet,” Stiles now is laughing at Derek’s expression, all pouty and cute. He is not going to say it though. He’d like to stay alive.

“I’m not a master chef like you, but something I can cook,” Derek tells him.

“Okay okay, for me it’s fine, we can cook together,” Stiles agrees, “If you suck to much I’ll just bench you.” he adds with a nonchalant shrug, getting up and going to change clothes.

“I bet you’d like to know how much I suck,” was Derek innocent remark as he exited the room leaving Stiles there, with his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

He darted to the bathroom to change and for a quick, but really needed, wank.

***

After changing in sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, Stiles went to the kitchenette to found Derek there already taking out things from the fridge and setting them on the counter.

“What are we making?” Stiles asked, stopping in front of the counter with his hands on his hips.

“Chicken stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped in Parma ham with a side of mashed potato.”

“Mh sounds good,” Stiles said checking for the ingredients. There weren’t any potatoes nor Parma ham, so Stiles asked to the others if they could go buy them. They decided to go all together; leaving Stiles and Derek alone.

“In the mean time we could make dessert,” Stiles said rummaging in the cabins.

“Yeah, what did you have in mind?” Derek asked

“Simple chocolate cake?” Stiles asked, “Or Kinder Paradiso cake, it’s really good. If we do that though, I have to ask the others to buy a few things.”

“Is it difficult to make?”

“Not at all, and very quick too,”

“All right then, let’s try,” Derek shrugged, “What do we need?”

“Flour, sugar, vanilla and lemon extract, milk, white yogurt, baking powder, 3 eggs, sunflower oil, potato starch for the batter,” Stiles started listing while counting the ingredients on his fingers, Derek already taking out what he could find, “And for the filling we need whipped cream and condensed milk.”

“Okay, we have everything except the extracts, baking powder, whipped cream and condensed milk,” Derek said.

“Okay I call Lydia,” Stiles said.

He called Lydia and told her what he needed, and she told him that they would be back in 10, 15 minutes tops. Stiles told Derek and they decided to star measuring the ingredients that they already had.

They prepared the ones for the cake and set them aside, and then Derek started to get the things ready for the chicken, Stiles helping him when needed. Derek was explaining to him how to make it because Stiles had never done it before, and that’s how the others found them when they got back from with groceries.

Stiles was leaning on the isle counter, his elbows resting on it, his face on his hands and amused eyes that watched Derek tell him how badly he had cut the chicken the first time he made the recipe. They were both laughing and didn’t notice when the others entered.

Peter cleared his voice, and their heads turned to him in a flash.

“Getting cosy, here?” He asked, smirking at them and setting the bags he was carrying on the counter, followed by Parrish that put down the other two he was holding.

Neither Stiles not Derek acknowledged Peter remark, but they started rummaging in the bags for what they needed. After setting aside everything that was just supply for the other days, they got to work, the other four scattered around the suit. Peter had been the first to flee the room before even leaving the chance to be asked to help. Lydia said she was going to take a shower and then she would set the table. Jordan and Allison offered to help them cook, but they declined since the space to move around wasn’t enough for the four of them.

They decided to make the cake first, so that they could focus on the chicken while it cooked. And they had to use the oven to cook the chicken, so as soon as the cake was ready they could switch it with the chicken.

Derek had put the potatoes in a pot with water, waiting for it to boil, so now he was looking at Stiles for directions on what to do to help him.

They started working together, and Stiles felt a complicity that he had never experienced before with Derek. They danced around each other, laughing from time to time at their clumsiness, but with a synchrony that was hard to miss.

Dinner was ready around eight and they all ate around the table in the kitchen area, complimenting him and Derek for the food. The chicken was delicious and was mostly Derek’s doing, and Stiles said so to the others, that watched Derek impressed making his hears go pink.

After dinner, they all moved to the couches and Stiles prepared a slice of cake for everyone, some tea and decaf.

While they were all eating it, Derek explained to them that he and Stiles will have a private meeting with the other Alpha, her mate and her emissary regarding pack matters, but he didn’t explained more than that, asking then to Allison how her encounter with the other hunters had gone that evening.

It was going like every other pack night they had back in Beacon Hills, and Stiles felt a little warmer inside, thinking about the rest of his family.

“They were really nice, and mostly,” Allison was saying to Derek, “Not closet minded. They’re family is big and scattered around the U.K, most of them already work with werewolves community like us.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Parrish interjected, “Maybe we could make an alliance with them too, if the other pack is okay with it. It might be something useful for Jackson and Danny too, other than for them.”

“Yeah, it might,” Derek said, but Stiles could tell that he wasn’t convinced.

“If you want, you could meet them,” Allison proposed. Derek’s jaw stiffened at that and Allison smiled reassuringly.

“They don’t know I’m here with a pack,” she said, “But they know my father and were our loyalty lies after all this years. They already know about the Clarkes pack,” she added, “They want to ask them a treaty, but they don’t know how to approach them. I think they are a little bit scared by Danae.”

Derek scoffed at that, but nodded, and seemed more relaxed.

“Maybe we could mention this to them on Thursday?” Stiles asked, directing his question to Derek.

“Maybe we could,” he affirmed, and the smile that Allison sent him was so thankful that Stiles had to hug her from where he was sitting next to her.

“I appreciate the effort you’re making, Derek,” she said, “I know that it’s still difficult for you,” her eyes were low now, “but you accepted me and my father in your pack after everything that’s happened and I want to do all that I can to make you understand how much that meant.”

Derek stood without a word and wrapped Allison in his arms, she seemed so small in that tight hug, and so different from the strong woman he was used to see every day. Stiles understood in that moment that she was still blaming herself for the choices that her family had made.

“You can’t blame yourself for the choices of your family.” Derek said to her, and Stiles was so proud of him right now, “You’re pack, your dad too, because in between of all those wrong choices, you two were the members that made the right ones. Understood?”

She nodded against his chest and hugged him tightly. Stiles could see Lydia’s eyes sparkle, her smile full of love for the people around her, for her pack. Jordan was smiling too, and Peter, that Stiles wasn’t used to see smile or show any expression other than his sassy one, was looking at Derek with pride, respect and fondness.

“Okay,” he said breaking the daze that had created, “Pack hug, now.” He demanded and throw himself around Derek and Allison, just as the other did the same, Peter with a roll of eyes and the others laughing.

They swayed all tangled for a few seconds, until Derek told them to ‘get off of me now, you clingy…ones’, with an exasperated but fond growl.

They all sat back on the couch and on the carpet, but Stiles noticed that they were all touching one another anyway, keeping the feeling of pack, of family, running through their bones.

“You guys want to watch something?” Stiles asked since it was still early to go to bed.

They all agreed, so he went quickly to his room to grab his laptop and as he set it on the table he was already opening Netflix.

“Movie or TV show marathon?”

“Have you all seen Sherlock, the TV show?” Allison asked and they nodded, “The first of January a new episode came out, but I haven’t had the time to watch it. We could watch that, what do you think?”

Stiles hadn’t seen it either, between the training and everything, so he was really curious and eager to watch it.

“I’ve already seen it,” Derek said, showing his nerd self, “But I’ll watch it again gladly.”

The others were okay with watching it, so Stiles put it on full screen and sat back at Derek’s feet.

“I bet this time Sherlock and Watson are going to kiss,” Allison said, and everyone looked at her amused.

“What?” she said innocently, but the episode started, so no one bothered to answer her.

They all loved the episode. It was brilliant and they all talked about it after, sharing opinions and hopes for new episodes in the future. It was almost half past midnight when they said goodnight and everyone went to their rooms.

***

When they got in, Stiles went to the bathroom, grabbing a shirt to change for the night and got back a few minutes later, a strange excitement in his veins.

As soon as Stiles closed the door behind himself, he turned to Derek.

“So,” he started with a hopeful face, “I think you promised to show me something today?”

Derek turned to look at him from where he was moving around the covers of the bed, ready to get under them. He tilted his head to the side as his arms crossed in front of his chest, he was looking at Stiles like he was deciding what to do, if he had earned the right to see him in his full form or not.

He apparently had decided not, because he turned around and went to the bathroom. Stiles sighed, a little disappointed, okay, yeah a lot, but headed anyway towards the bed. He sprawled himself on the covers, rubbing his cold, tired feet on them to warm up.

He was waiting for Derek to come to bed to turn off the bedside lamps when the door of the bathroom opened again, but no one exited.

He straightened up, and got closer to the end of the bed nearer to the bathroom door.

When Derek’s wolf form came out, something went straight to Stiles’ heart. He was overwhelmed by the majestic beauty of the animal in front of him. Derek wasn’t just beautiful in his human form, but also in his wolf one. His fur was dark like his hair, his eyes where greener and he was huge.

Stiles wanted to crouch in front of him and stick his hands in his pelt for the rest of his life.

He was startled by the coldness of Derek’s snout on his hand. He expired and hesitantly reached out to touch Derek. The big wolf leaned on his touch, a pleased rumble vibrating from him as Stiles let his hand run through the fur between his hears.

“Oh, Derek,” Stiles said, giving in to his want to crouch in front of him, his voice wavering with emotion “You are so beautiful.”

If wolves could blush, now Derek would be. He touched his nose with Stiles’ and nuzzled in his neck, letting Stiles’ hand free to wander around and pet him, as much as he wanted.

After a few minutes, Stiles got up and jerked with his head towards the bed, asking without having to speak if Derek wanted to sleep like that today, to spend the night together in his wolf form.

The wolf pushed at the covers with his muzzle, and as soon as Stiles had moved them aside, he jumped on his side of the bed. Stiles got up too, moving from his side to Derek’s and he curled himself on Derek, his hands buried in his fur and his head resting near the wolf’s.

Derek shuffled around him, getting even more closer, like he wanted to envelope Stiles body with his own, and in this form he almost could.

“Good night Derek,” Stiles said with a last brush between his hears.

Derek licked Stiles’ cheek, like he was kissing him goodnight, and Stiles chuckled, closing his eyes and borrowing in the wolf’s warmth.

Derek rested his head on Stiles knee and closed his eyes.

Stiles fell asleep feeling that he was in the place where he belonged, wrapped in Derek’s wolf form.

The last thought Stiles had before falling asleep, was that probably he would belong in Derek’s human arms as much as he belonged between his furry paws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An amazing fanart that I found casually, it reflects the position in the last scene <3
> 
> Credits to the artist :)
> 
> http://41.media.tumblr.com/a0cfada3ba9cc614d6c10a2b3a115454/tumblr_n9ldyccQtd1rd3u4ko1_500.jpg


	12. 3.7 - It's the right thing to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm so late with the update :/

During the night they must have moved around, because when Stiles woke up, he was the one spooning Derek’s wolfy self. Derek’s muzzle was resting in the crook of Stiles’ neck, and he was half sprawled on top of him, his fur keeping his body warm. Too warm, Stiles realized as the haze of the sleep faded away. He petted Derek for a while more, his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of softness under his fingers.

Derek moved slightly in his sleep, burrowing more into Stiles’ neck, his damp cold nose dragging across it, sending shivers running through Stiles body. He was still sleeping though, so Stiles untangled himself from him carefully and got out of the bed.

He prepared himself for the day, trying to make less noise possible and not bother Derek’s sleep. It was still early, so when he got out of the bathroom he went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone.

He could make pancakes this morning, with some bacon and scrambled eggs, so they could all have breakfast together, before splitting up and going separate ways for their daily itineraries.

He started cooking, humming a song under his breath, the only sounds in the suite the ones of the others inhabitants waking up and the pan sizzling as he poured another spoon of pancake batter.

He made a plate for everyone, heating the oven a little and putting them there to keep them warm. He was preparing some orange juice while the coffee brewed, Lydia and Allison exited their room, saying good morning and sitting at the table in the kitchen, already dressed but still sleepy. After a few minutes, Peter came out of his room and went to get coffee from Stiles before sitting down, followed by a still half-asleep Parrish that was still in his pyjamas. If you want to call a pair of shorts that.

He served them the pancakes, putting on the table a plate with scrambled eggs and bacon, the juice and the coffee. He was waiting for Derek to have breakfast together, while the others started on their meal.

He sipped a little of his coffee and checked the time. It was almost nine, and if they wanted to see the National Gallery and be able to do something more in the evening, maybe Stiles should wake him up.

Derek had decided to join him, Allison, Lydia and Danny to see the National Gallery, and they had to meet up at ten in Trafalgar Square, just in front of the museum.

Stiles set down his coffee mug and went to wake up Derek. He found him still in his wolf form, all sprawled on the bed, his head resting on Stiles’ pillow.

He stepped quietly towards him and sat on the bed, a hand reaching out to run on the fur between his ears.

“Wake up, sleepywolf,” he said, his voice more soft and fond than intended.

Derek moved his head to push it against Stiles’ hand, in a mute request, so Stiles started rubbing behind his ears and on his muzzle, getting a pleased noise from the wolf.

“You have to get up,” Stiles said to him, leaning more on the bed to get a better access on his back and stroking him there, “I’ve made breakfast, you know.”

Derek’s eyes were open in an instant at the mention of food, his tail wiggling out of control and his stance made Stiles laugh so much that he had to dry a few tears from his eyes.

“Get ready, I’ll make some coffee for you.” he told him, getting up, eyes still lit with laughter, “I bet the others finished the jug I made earlier,” he went out shaking his head and sending a smile to the wolf, his swaying tail the last thing he saw as he got out.

When he got back to the kitchen, he found only Peter there, grabbing some snacks and a bottle of water for the day.

“What will you be doing today?” he asked him curiously. Peter’s itinerary was the only one he didn’t know, because Peter had wanted to plan it by himself, just adding the few groups things they agreed on.

“I’ll be cruising the Thames and walk around for a while, find something fun to do” Peter said adding a smirk in the end, putting snacks and water in a small satchel, “Maybe I’ll join you guys at the museum later.”

“That seems nice,” Stiles replied to him with a smirk of his own, setting the coffee maker on the stove.

“I’ll better get going,” Peter said, “Things to see, places to be, people to do and so on,” and with that he was out of the door. Stiles shook his head, not really surprised that Peter was having his own kind of fun even here. He was attractive after all.

Derek brought him out of his thoughts about Peter, his hand brushing Stiles’ back as he passed him to grab his plate and sit at the table. Was Derek scenting him? Stiles told himself that was something normal, seen the fact that they were in a foreign territory. Derek wasn’t being possessive of Stiles, not a chance.

He turned over, turning off the stove and pouring a cup of coffee for Derek, he grabbed his plate too and sat with him to have breakfast.

“How come that these pancakes are every time a little better?” Derek asked, after swallowing his mouthful of food with a sip of coffee.

“Because I’m magic,” Stiles told him with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

They spent their breakfast making fun of each other, and Stiles was so happy to see this side of Derek so often, that he promised he would do everything he could to make it a permanent thing.

***

Their visit at the National Gallery lasted all morning and a small part of the evening. They got out to have a quick lunch – yes, Stiles was trying to get his hands on those delicious baguettes from Pret a Manger as often as he could – and then went back inside to finish the visit.

They all loved it, even if from time to time Allison would sit down and wait for them, her expression a little bored but smiley nonetheless. Peter joined them in the end, when they were going back in after lunch.

They decided to go for a walk at the park and ended up at St. James, feeding squirrels and relaxing with some hot tea and coffee in their hands.

Their evening was nice, and in the end Parrish and Jackson joined them, and they spent the rest of the evening all together, wandering around St. James and Hyde park, stopping once in a while and took their time in this evening that in the end was just one big pack bonding session.

Danny and Jackson took them to a restaurant called Momo, near Savile Row, and insisted to offer dinner to all of them.

While they were getting there, Stiles remembered to send a text to Remus to let him know that they could meet in a nice coffee in Regent’s Park the day after, around five. Remus texted back confirming and Stiles set his phone back in his pocket.

The whole day went amazingly, and Stiles loved being surrounded by his pack mates. He wished that the others were here too, but he would call them on Skype as soon as he could.

Stiles leaned lightly on Derek’s shoulder on their ride to the restaurant and sent him a quick smile. The Alpha returned it, and Stiles could see the effect this day had had on Derek. He seemed so alive, surrounded by his pack.

Derek’s hand brushed Stiles’ nape for a brief second, before he turned away to talk to Lydia about something, and Stiles wondered if maybe Derek was really trying to scent him. He entertained the thought with a small smile playing at his lips, and spent the rest of their night out in a happy mood.

***

When Stiles wakes up the next morning, with Derek’s hand shaking his shoulder, he doesn’t remember how they got back to the hotel.

He remembers that they went to drink after dinner. He supposed had enough to drink that combined with his tiredness, the change of time and his anxiety for the meeting, he probably got slightly drunk and passed out before getting back.

He hoped he hadn’t done nor said nothing embarrassing.

Stiles rubbed his eyes tiredly, groaning at his mild headache, and stretching his limbs under the covers.

“What time is it?” he asked to Derek, who was moving around the room. His voice was hoarse, his throat dry.

“A little after eight thirty,” Derek said handing him a glass of water, “I waited as much as I could to wake you, since yesterday you almost face planted on the cab. I figured you might need some more sleep,”

“Thanks…” he said, taking big gulps of his water, “Yeah,” he continued, “I slept like a rock. I needed it.”

Derek smiled at him, but Stiles could see that he was tired as well, and he wondered if he was sleeping enough. Maybe he wasn’t resting enough, even if they were sleeping a lot.

Stiles knew the difference between a good night of sleep and a night of just sleep, and since he had started planning this trip he hadn’t gotten much rest. Of course, the last nights, with Derek cuddled with him were a little better, he felt less tired and more at ease, but it was like something was still missing before he could relax enough and sleep like he needed.

He was still too afraid to never wake up and be trapped in his dreams. He realized that in the few days in constant contact with Derek none of his usual dreams had made an appearance, and he was grateful for it, because he knew Derek knew, like the rest of the pack, but they never talked about it and Stiles wanted it to stay that way. The dreams were enough; he didn’t needed them in his real life too.

Stiles sent him a sleepy smile and got up, padding towards the bathroom. He took a long shower and got ready. They were going to Camden Town today, and then meet the other pack.

Today they were all together, and as soon as they were ready they got out and went to the nearest Golden Tours bus stop. They took the orange route on stop 40, and it took them a little more than an hour to get to their stop, in Marylebone Road, but they enjoyed the ride, listening carefully to the guide and taking photos all the way there.

They walked for a short time from there to Regent’s Park, passing through Baker Street and stopping to take photos in front of the door of 221B.

The park was huge. Smaller than Hyde park, sure, but Stiles liked it more. It seemed the perfect place where to stop and lay in the sun, where to spend winter days walking as the snow fell. There was a lot of people enjoying the warmth of the day, playing sports, running or walking with their dogs.

The leisurely walked through the park, headed towards Camden Town. Stiles heard a sound that at first he registered as one from the construction site in the park, then as they got further into the park he realized that it was a lion roaring in the zoo. He was amazed at the strength of the sound, and couldn’t wait to see the beautiful beast on Sunday, when they will go there.

Derek noticed Stiles interest in the sound and growled at him playfully, being careful not to be heard or seen; his fangs bared a little.

Stiles shoved him with a smirk and they kept walking.

Camden town was simple beauty. Stiles didn’t even knew how to describe it. It was an explosion of colours, people, smells and things. The road was full of stands of everything, from clothes to bags, from shoes to food to strange accessories, and the same was for the shops around there. You could find tattoo parlours, places where to get pierced, antiquities and vintage stuff. All in the same place.

They explored every inch they could, everyone eating something from a different food stall and sitting all piled up at the tables near the river. They walked around a little more after lunch. Stiles had his eyes set on some old action figures, Derek on a Polaroid, the girls where roaming around clothes, shoes and weapons with Jordan. Peter had gone away after lunch, saying he had plans. Before he went away though, Derek stopped to talk to him for a second, Alpha eyes flashing for a second.

Around four, Stiles took Derek aside and told him they had to go, so they said goodbye to the others with a strict Alpha order of not follow them nor try to eavesdrop in anyway, and after the eye rolls and the promises they went away. Since Derek had flashed his eyes at them too, Stiles supposed that he had warned Peter earlier.

Stiles and Derek walked back from they came, back in the park, and as they arrived at one of the bars they sat down and Stiles called Remus. As the man picked up, Stiles was greeted with a cheerful tone, so he relaxed in his chair and told him where they were. Remus assured him that they would be there in more or less fifteen minutes, and that if they wanted they could start ordering something or walk around a little bit, they talked a little more and then hung up.

Since they were walking all day, they decided to stay there while waiting and ordered tea and something to eat. Stiles didn’t want to be more jittery, but the tea seemed a nice idea with the cool breeze that was starting to get colder as the sun was being covered by white-grey fluffy clouds.

Stiles hoped it wouldn’t rain. Or at least he hoped for just a light drizzle.

Their tea arrived a few moments later and Stiles was warming his hands with the cup when he saw the other Alpha coming towards them.

He smiled at her, Jon and Remus, standing up with Derek and shaking everybody’s hand.

As soon as they were all seated and with their order, Danae turned towards Derek.

“So, Alpha Hale,” she said, her tone light despite the situation, “What did you wanted to talk to us about?”

“I…” Derek glanced briefly at Stiles, that nodded with a small smile, “I wanted to ask if your family will take in consideration adopting Jackson and Danny, as your own.” Good one, for the non-supernatural listeners this was just a normal conversation about adoption.

Danae was silent, and her eyes told Stiles that this wasn’t what she was expecting.

“I think that my…” she stopped and smiled sweetly, “family has already accepted them as their own. This doesn’t mean though that they want to be officially part of it, if you know what I mean.”

“I know that,” Derek replied, his eyes fixed on his cup, “It’s just that I’ll would be easier knowing that they are safe under your watch, and I can’t pretend for you to host them forever. That is why I wanted to ask them if they want to join you, if you agree.”

“Jackson and Danny, or anyone of your pack, is always welcome here in my territory,” Danae whispered to him, and Stiles saw Derek’s resolution crumble a little more. “You are a good Alpha, Derek. We saw them grow in your leadership during this years, and even if sometimes Jackson complains about you lack of self-preservation when it comes to defend anyone of them or your territory, they have always looked up to you.”

“Derek,” Remus intruded, his voice sounded like the one of his father when he tried to calm him after his panic attacks, “You don’t have to give them up; they are more than welcome being our hosts. They are practically family.”

“If you are worried for them missing their pack, you shouldn’t,” Jon added with a smile, always speaking quietly, “Of course, they miss you all, especially their Alpha. But they have us here to be their ‘unofficial’ pack and you are doing a really good job with them.”

Derek didn’t know how to take all this kindness, all this praise for his role, all this trust in him.

Stiles saw right through it, sensing Derek’s fear of not being enough, not being able to give his pack what they needed. He decided it was his time to intervene.

“That’s all true,” he said, resting his hands on the table and looking at the others, “But I think that Derek wants to give them the opportunity to choose. He wants them to know that if they ever wanted to change pack, they could and there will be no consequences.”

“I understand,” said Danae, her look pensive.

“We will always be a family, no matter what,” Stiles continued, fixing his eyes in Derek’s.

“No matter what.” Derek repeated firmly.

“Well, if you want then, for us it’s okay,” she said smiling at Stiles in a knowing way.

“Thank you, this means a lot to me. And us, as a pack.” Derek said, squeezing her hand briefly.

“We were thinking that maybe the five of us could have dinner tonight with Jackson and Danny and ask them, see what they think about it,” Stiles proposed.

“Why not?” Jon said, turning towards Danae. She nodded and he kissed her on the head, his arm around her shoulders.

“Then it’s settled,” Remus said, “What about in your hotel? I can say that you are already tired and you could use a few hours of sleep before dinner.”

“Yes, thank God,” Stiles said with a tired groan, face palming on the table. That made the others laugh, and Stiles hid his own smiles between his arms, glad to have dissipated the last traces of nervousness in the air.

They stayed there for a while more, chatting about their days, what they were planning to do in the ones that remained. Stiles at a certain point started to talk with Remus about his traveling experience and of some of the people he had met during them. He promised to Stiles that they will go back on the subject Saturday, when they were all supposed to go to the Clarkes house and met the rest of the pack.

After saying goodbye, Stiles texted the others to let them know that he and Derek where heading back to the Hotel to rest a little before dinner, explaining that they had to meet again with the Clarke’s Alpha and they couldn’t join them.

He got answers for everyone, telling him that they were still wandering around and that they had already planned on eating out tonight.

He and Derek got back at the Hotel in a cab, because even if Stiles wanted to keep walking and exploring on their way back, he was too tired to walk that much and they realized that it would have taken too long.

Around six and a half they were back in their room.

Stiles took off his clothes, not even caring were he was putting them. He was suddenly extremely tired.

He crawled under the covers and turned on his side, facing the door. Derek was in the bed a few minutes later, and Stiles could feel his internal battle so he moved a little back towards him.

Derek’s arms went around his waist, his nose so close to Stiles’ hair that he could feel every breath Derek released running down his neck. He pushed back towards him, his body seeking the warmth and comfort.

Derek settled around him, and ended up with one of his arms under Stiles’ neck and the other on his hip, Derek’s warm hand wrapped around the other one.

As Stiles was dozing off, he felt Derek push his nose in his hair, inhale deeply.

“Am I doing the right thing?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“You are, Derek,” Stiles answered, “You are being the Alpha you wanted to be, you’re giving them a choice.”

“Thank you, Stiles,” was all Derek said before they fell asleep.


	13. 3.8 - Let's go dancing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this :) Remember it's a future fic and everyone has changed! Anyway, thanks to all of you who read, comment and leave kudos :)  
> Have a nice weekend :)

Derek was nervous for the dinner with his betas; his sleep was restless and short. When he woke up, he was still cuddling with Stiles, the other boy asleep and unaware of Derek awake beside him.

He focused on his breathing and willed his wolf to stay calm; they knew this was for the good of the pack. But it hurt nonetheless just the thought of them leaving.

His hand brushed lightly Stiles’ side, and he wondered how they came to this. In a pack was something natural to seek contact and comfort from pack mates, but between him and Stiles it was different. There was casual contact from time to time, just enough to scent him like part of his pack, just enough to keep the pack bond at ease. They never acted like this, never cuddled or touched the other so much, not even during pack nights. Not even during the comforting puppy piles the others insisted to have, and not touch someone on those occasions was something close to impossible.

Sure Derek had come to terms to liking the boy, maybe even more than just in a friendly way. But that wasn’t something to think about now, with him in his arms. Now Derek was dwelling on the fact that Stiles had accepted this change in their relationship so easily.

The way he cuddled with Derek while he was in his wolf form, which was the strangest of things. The only ones Derek had done it were his family, and after their death for him was impossible to turn to a complete wolf again. Then things settled, his pack was safe, happy and big and Derek found himself running on all fours, his body changing shape as he howled happily in the depths of forest.

Stiles was the first to see him like this after his family. The rest of the pack knew, but they hadn’t seen him because he wasn’t ready for them to see. When Stiles had asked though, his wolf had whined lowly, pleading him to let Stiles see. He was unsure, but in the end really glad. With Stiles’ fingers buried in his fur and his heartbeat so close, his wolf felt so at ease that Derek was almost scared he wouldn’t let him go back to his human form.

Fortunately that wasn’t the case, but he and Stiles kept this strange ritual of cuddling to sleep and he couldn’t say he minded one bit. With all the things that were going on in his head, he needed the closeness of his pack.

He was tugging Stiles a little closer, inhaling his scent deeply. He smelled like both of them, sleep and apples, and Derek’s wolf rumbled content in his chest. It was because he needed the closeness of his pack, to feel the connection, not because Stiles’ smell was something he was addicted to. His wolf rolled his eyes at him, but Derek ignored him. He rubbed his hands on Stiles, mixing their scents even more, careful not to wake Stiles.

When he was satisfied with his scenting, he glanced at the clock, and knowing that he wasn’t going to sleep again he decided to get ready and then wake Stiles up so he could do the same. He sent a text to Jackson, telling him that they had a dinner meeting with the other pack’s Alpha, no questions asked.

Without waiting a reply, he stood up slowly and gathered his things quietly, heading for the bathroom and closing the door behind him after a last glance to Stiles’ sleeping body.

He brushed his teeth carefully, then took his clothes off and jumped in the shower. As he was washing himself his mind started to roam and ended up thinking of the boy in the next room, of his warm body pressed against him.

Derek was aware of the bit of flirting that had been going on these past days, and he liked it. He just wasn’t sure where this would led them or if it would led them somewhere.

His wolf reminded him how good his scent and Stiles’ smelled mixed together, and what he had felt the other day when he got out of the bathroom to find Stiles’ aroused smell attacking his senses. He felt his cock stir at the memory. He had already jacked off in the shower as Stiles was doing the same in the bed, but now he was sleeping and Derek could concentrate solely on the image that was creating on his head, not on capturing Stiles’ restrained moans.

As he slid his hand through his abdomen to reach for his cock, the picture of Stiles in the shower with him was clear in his mind. He closed his eyes as he gripped the base, imagining Stiles’ long fingers instead of his own. Stiles’ body close to his, skin sliding against skin under the warm water, his lips on Derek’s neck.

He imagined Stiles exploring his body with his mouth, kissing, licking, sucking and biting his way down, until he was on his knees in front of Derek. He had to squeeze his dick and open his eyes not to come right away just at that image. He took a deep breath, his eyes closing again and his hand starting to move firmly on his shaft as he pictured Stiles’ plump lips wrap around it and suck the life out of him. He was coming mere strokes later, with a loud moan, his breath ragged and his face flushed.

He took a few more minutes to calm himself down, washing away the traces of his come from his belly and finishing his shower, getting out and towelling himself with a soft white towel.

He put his socks and his pants on, waiting to put his shirt after he had trimmed his beard. As he was combing his hair and deciding what to do with his beard, he heard noise from the other side of the wall. Stiles was awake.

“Derek?” Stiles voice asked and quick rap on the door made him realize that he was standing in front of it, so he went to open it.

“Are you okay?” he asked Stiles, with an eyebrow raised at him. The boy was standing in front of him and squirming slightly.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Stiles said still half asleep, pushing his way into the bathroom past Derek, “Just need really quickly to use the toilet. My bladder is killing me. I knew I shouldn’t have drunk all that tea.”

He kept rambling about tea and crazy English people that drank it every day even though it filled his bladder so much. Stiles probably wasn’t aware of Derek still being in the room when he emptied his belly with a satisfied sigh, his back to Derek.

“Sorry dude,” he said as he approached the sink to wash his hands. So he was aware that he was still there.

“No problem?” Derek said questioningly, still a little baffled by the situation. Stiles was really that comfortable around him?

Stiles turned around with a sheepish grin, a light flush on his cheeks as he headed back to the bedroom.

Derek shook his head and didn’t even close the door as he went back to the sink to take care of his beard. He could hear Stiles rummaging through his things, deciding what to wear later.

“Hey, Stiles!” he called.

“Yeah?” Stiles head peaked from the doorframe.

“If you want to get ready, you can,” he said, and registering Stiles wide eyes, he continued blabbering “since there are two sinks and, you know, I just need the mirror.” His hears were already turning red as he remembered what he was doing just ten minutes earlier in the shower.

“Oh,” Stiles said, “Yeah, okay, let me just…” he pointed back to the room and disappeared quickly.

Derek looked at himself in the mirror, willing his face to go back to a normal colour, when Stiles came in again, clothes and toiletries with him.

He set himself in the sink next to Derek, and took off his shirt. Derek tried not to stare at all that milky skin, but his brain seemed to be completely opposed to that.

Stiles opened the tap and washed his face, the muscles of his back flexing. Derek wanted to touch so badly.

As Stiles was raising and reaching for a towel, Derek tore his eyes from him and stared his reflection angrily.

“Dude,” Stiles said, smirking “why are you watching at yourself that angrily? Has your face done something bad to you?”

“Oh, shut up,” he said back with no heat, pushing him lightly with his hip, “I don’t know what to do with my beard,” he lied. Sort of. It wasn’t his fault if his beard was worse than Potter’s hair on a good day.

“Want me to…?” Stiles asked, with an amused face, pointing with one hand at Derek’s face and the other at the electric shaver on the sink.

Derek thought about it for a second, realizing that his wolf was craving a little for Stiles’ closeness, and even if it was just something as innocent as trimming his beard, Derek would take it. No need to make his wolf upset before dinner, he had to keep him at bay as much as he could.

“If you don’t mind,” he shrugged, turning to face him and handing him the shaver. Stiles surprise was evident on his face, and Derek smirked at him, raising his eyebrows. “Well?”

“Hey, I’m visualizing dude,” Stiles said, smirking back at him. He set back the shaver on the sink, his hands now on Derek’s face. He run his fingers on the stubble, turning his head from side to side, and then he started trimming Derek’s beard with concentration. Before Derek could move though, he grabbed something from his toiletries bag and started fiddling with his hair.

As he finished he hummed satisfied, and Derek watched at himself in the mirror, scared to what he might find.

It wasn’t nothing extreme, fortunately. Stiles had just shortened his beard and styled his hair up with what he presumed was gel, but they looked soft and made him look younger. He liked it. And apparently Stiles did too, if the scent that was hitting Derek’s nose was something reliable.

He flexed his muscles purposely as he got a closer look at his face, grabbing a towel to clean of the trimmed hair on his skin. The scent got thicker.

“I like what I see,” he said to his reflection, then half turning his face towards Stiles, “Do you?” he asked, sending him a flirty grin.

“I-I-,umh…yeah,” Stiles said, his eyes darting from Derek’s arms to his face. A light flush spreading on his neck, aware that he had been caught staring.

Derek grabbed his things and headed for the door, turning at the last second.

“Thanks, Stiles,” he said with a wink and a smile, closing the door.

***

As he was alone again, he shook his head incredulous. Had he really just winked at Stiles? He sighed, resigned, as he put his things away. Stiles was doing things to him, and he wasn’t doing anything to stop it. He was enjoying so much this strange relationship that they were developing. He liked to flirt with him, to tease him, knowing that at least at a physical level, Stiles was interested in him. He doubted it could be something more than that though. They were friends; they were pack. Derek liked that, but he couldn’t deny that he would have appreciated something more.

Shooing away those thoughts about his emissary, Derek checked the time and decided it was early enough that he could concede himself some more relax. He straightened up the covers, and laid on the bed, stretching his limbs. He didn’t know what to do though, he wasn’t in the mood to read something. He waited for Stiles to ask him if he wanted to watch something together. He would have asked the others, but he couldn’t hear nor sense anyone other than him and Stiles in the suite.

After a few more minutes Stiles emerged from the bathroom. He was wearing soft black pants and a plain brown Henley. It fitted him ridiculously well.

Derek kept staring at him as he moved around the room, aware that Stiles knew he was watching him. But he couldn’t care. He had winked at him, so staring at his ass wasn’t something so embarrassing. At least it wasn’t until Stiles noticed. A big shit-eating grin spreading on his face.

“It’s early. Want to watch something before going?” Derek asked before Stiles could say anything about him staring.

“I thought you were already doing it,” he said still smirking, and Derek rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep the blush away from his face.

“Yeah, busted,” he said, with his hands in the air, “You have a nice ass. Now, movie or TV show?”

Stiles probably wasn’t expecting Derek to admit it so easily, so he stumbled a little while grabbing his laptop.

“Probably better a TV show, we don’t have enough time for a movie,” he sat on the bed, putting the laptop between them and then rested his back against the headboard, his legs stretching in front of him.

Derek mirrored his position and got closer, bumping his shoulder with Stiles’. They smiled at each other and Stiles, learning that Derek had never seen it, put on the first episode of Supernatural. Derek protested, but Stiles shut him up telling him that he would love it, ‘trust me’, he had said. He agreed reluctantly and they spent the remaining time watching the pilot.

He had winched, seeing the woman burn on the ceiling and the house on fire, but stopped Stiles hand from blocking the show. He kept his hand on Stiles’ the whole time, but he didn’t seem to care, his fingers brushing subconsciously Derek’s palm from time to time.

***

Before they could finish it though, it was time to go, so Derek didn’t answer Stiles question about liking it or not. Derek had liked it, but he wasn’t completely sold yet. Maybe after the end of the episode and after seeing some more he could judge. Maybe it could become something he and Stiles did together, like their own thing even when they got back to Beacon Hills. Derek liked the idea, and stored it to ask Stiles what he thought about it later.

After checking they were all right and that they had everything, they headed for the elevator and went to the restaurant.

Jackson and Danny were already there, sitting at a table near the windows. Stiles and Derek approached them, hugging them as soon as they got to the table. Derek relished in the contact, in the feeling of the bond with his betas, knowing that probably this was the last time he would be feeling it.

They all sat and started talking about nonsense, the betas knowing they had to wait the arrival of the others to ask about this meeting. Danae, Jon and Remus arrived shortly after and after they were all seated, had exchanged pleasantries and ordered their food, Derek took a deep breath, and with a nod to Danae, he fixed his attention on Jackson and Danny.

“Jackson, Danny,” he said, catching their attention, “I called you two to this meeting because I have a proposition for you. I already talked to Danae about it, she gave her consent so if you want to say yes to this, you can, without problems. I’m,” he stopped for a breath, glancing at Stiles “we, are giving you a choice.”

“Derek,” Jackson said, “What is it? You are kind of scaring me,” he smiled, but his eyes betrayed him, showing his nervousness.

“Nothing to worry about,” Stiles interjected smiling reassuringly, squeezing Derek’s knee under the table to push him to continue.

“I asked the Alpha Danae if she would consider taking you as her betas.” Derek said.

“What?” “Why?” Jackson and Danny asked at the same time, and Derek stopped any further question by raising his hand.

“I’m giving you a choice,” he stated again, trying to make them understand his point of view, why he was doing this, “You live here, and you have been their hosts for a few years now. They are practically your family, the only pack you have around since we live in a different country. It might be easier and better for you if you became officially part of their pack.”

“Are you for real?” Danny asked.

“Yes,” he was serious, “I want you two to know that we have an alliance with the Clarke’s pack, so even if you became part of their pack, we will keep in contact. We are a family. Who your Alpha is doesn’t change that.” He said the last sentence looking straight in Jackson eyes.

“Mh,” was all Jackson said, and the table fell silent. Derek looked at Stiles and as he was opening his mouth to talk again, the waiters arrived with their food. They ate for a while, when Jackson broke the silence.

“Can we be excused for a second?” Jackson asked, his tone serious as Derek’s one was minutes before.

“Yes,” Derek said, with a glance to Danae and a nod to them.

As they disappeared on the other room, Derek slumped on his seat, sighing harshly and pressing the heels of his hands on his eyes. He felt Stiles’ hand rest between his shoulder blades and he leaned on the touch, inhaling deeply before opening back his eyes and regaining his composure.

Danae smiled at him warmly, and they talked a little about trivial things. They were obviously trying to take Derek’s mind off of what Jackson and Danny might be discussing.

His betas came back ten minutes later, their faces relaxed but determined. Derek knew what they wanted to say, but he couldn’t let them feel how sad his wolf was for their decision. He had to stay strong, because this was for their own good.

They sat back, Jackson tangled his fingers with Danny’s.

“We really appreciate you giving us this opportunity,” Danny said to him, and Derek could hear he wasn’t lying.

“You are right,” said Jackson, “We live here, we are far away from our pack and they are practically family for us. They are a great pack and have helped us a lot during our time here, they really have been kind with us,” he paused, sending a smile to Danae and Jon.

Derek nodded to them, unable to say anything with the lump forming in his throat. He bowed his head, not wanting to look them in the eye as they said they were leaving him. He gave them a choice, but it hurt anyway.

“The things that matter the most to us though,” Jackson continues, with a more soft tone, “Is being part of the pack that feels right for us. We had so much shit to go through during these years, but we are still in one piece. You know why Derek?”

“Why?” Derek asked, head still bent.

“Because we had you.”

Derek’s head snapped up at that, his eyes searching in Jackson’s ones any sign of lie.

“You, as our Alpha and pack that made us what we are, that took us where we are, that makes us feel safe. We are choosing that pack,” Danny said, his smile grateful and proud, “We are choosing to stay with our pack, because even if we are in different countries, we couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“You were a damn excuse for an Alpha when you first turned me,” Jackson said, smirking at him, and Derek felt his lips twitch up, knowing that there was no heat behind that reminder, “But you have become the Alpha that we all needed. You protected us, encouraged us, helped us in any way you could. You created a family for those who hadn’t any, and we are not going to lose that. Even if it means I’ll have to keep putting up with Stilinski for the rest of my life.”

Derek laughed at that, feeling the relief run through his body. His betas were still his, they weren’t going anywhere. He turned to see Stiles reaction, and he caught him smirking fondly at Jackson and Danny.

Stiles noticed him watching and Stiles wiggled his eyebrows at him, his smirk turning in a smile that was telling Derek ‘I told you so’ so obviously that he had to rolls his eyes at him.

Danae cleared her throat and they all focused on her.

“Well,” she said happily, with a strange glint in her eyes, “Since this has settled exactly as I expected to, and I want to celebrate the unity of your pack, I have a proposition.”

“What kind of proposition?” Derek asked cautiously. He was glad she was moving the topic to something else, because he was starting to get emotional and right now, it wasn’t the time. He would thanks his betas for their words later. A puppy pile night awaited them.

“We should all go dancing,” she said smiling widely, “After dinner, we should get the rest of your troops and go to a club. I know exactly where to go,”

“Dancing?” Derek asked, sceptically.

“I’m in!” Stiles said and the others all turned to him. He started rambling, “Guys, I need to blow off some of the tension, you know. I might not be the best dancer, by I think that it’d be something nice. Another pack memory in this trip!”

“I agree with Stilinski here,” Jackson said and Stiles gave him a thumbs up.

“It’s not a bad idea, we could use some dancing,” Danny added.

“I don’t want to shame you with my perfect dance moves,” Remus said, grinning, “So I’m not joining you this time.”

“I think I-”

“Nu-uh, dude.” Stiles said to Derek, “You can’t bail. Pack bonding this time means pack dancing. We are celebrating us, our unity, as Danae said. We aren’t a unit if you’re not there.”

“Fine,” Derek huffed, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, as he punched lightly Stiles on his shoulder.

They all laughed and he revelled in the sound, in seeing his pack so happy around him, mingling with their allies and feeling at ease in a place different from home. They had come a long way round to get to this, but as Jackson had said, he couldn’t ask for anything better.

As Stiles was sending a text to the rest of the pack, he found himself eager for the night out with them. He was so happy he felt being a little stupid wouldn’t be bad.

“Let’s go dancing!” he said in a high-pitched voice that he would deny had ever came from him, waving his hands in the air mockingly in a teenager way.

More laughter filled his ears, a smile stretched wide on his face and his wolf settled content in his chest, wiggling his tail enthusiastically at the perspective of a night filled with his pack.


	14. 3.9 - Dancing vibes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I'm not feeling very well lately, but don't worry I won't stop posting this fic. It's all already planned in my head and I really really mean to finish it!  
> Go check the songs if you like :) If I have time I'll make a playlist for this chapter, with the songs I was listening to when I wrote it :)
> 
> Hope you'll like this chapter :) have a nice week-end!

The dinner went on quickly, the mood had improved and they all chatted happily for the rest of the meal.

The others agreed to go dancing, wanting to know what the dinner with the other pack was about and happy to be able to spend a night of bonding all together.

After eating and paying, saying their goodbyes to Remus and called a cab, they head to Soho, at Jackson’s request.

“What about the others?” Stiles asks to Danny.

“Already sent a text, they’re waiting for us at Golden Square, the place where we’re going it’s just past Regent’s Street,” Danny answers, “And since they were already in Soho, we’ve told them to meet us there”

“All right,” Stiles smiles, and leans on the backseat of the cab, his head dropping on Derek’s arm that’s resting up there. He turns slightly towards him and sends him a smirk.

“So you’re going to dance tonight?” he asks, still smirking.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve got my fair share of moves,” Derek says, flicking his ear with the hand that’s resting on the back of Stiles’ head, “But no, thanks. I think I’m gonna enjoy watching you lot flail around the dance floor,” he smirks back at Stiles.

“No way.” Stiles says, shaking his head with a bemused look, “Now I’ve got to see those moves. You can’t deny me this pleasure.”

“Yes I can,” Derek shoots back, “And I will,” he smirks even more, his front teeth poking out a little, “Your heart couldn’t take something like that.” He tries to keep a serious tone, and he almost makes it, but the way Stiles’ eyes crinkle as he laughs at Derek’s word sell him, and he can’t help his smirk from becoming a [small smile](http://45.media.tumblr.com/486067c947267c7bf2f6f723bb019081/tumblr_nya0kvqcKj1scle9io1_500.gif).

“Oh god,” Stiles says between laughter.

“You just dug your grave, dude,” Jackson says, smirking in turn, “Now we all want to see those killing moves.”

Derek just tumps his head back with a groan.

The others laugh, getting lost in idle chatting and shortly after the car his slowing down, coming to a stop.

The rest of the pack is there waiting for them, and after a round of greetings they head for the club, leaded by Jackson and Danny. They chat with everyone in the brief walk, asking how the evening was and between small mockery and laughs the get to the club.

Stiles that’s talking to Lydia about the place they went to eat, turns around at Derek’s snort.

He understands right away why Derek snorted and why he’s shaking his head, pinching the base of his nose. The club they are in front of it’s called [‘Strawberry Moons’](http://www.strawberrymoonsbar.co.uk/venue-details/).

Stiles can’t help the giggles that escape him as they fall in line to enter. Lydia hits him lightly on the arm, but he can see that she’s trying not to laugh too. Jackson and Danny have a smug look on their faces, Danae has a big smile and Jon is patting Derek’s shoulder, his smirk not very well hidden.

It takes around fifteen minutes to get inside, time that Stiles spends talking with Lydia and examining what he can see of the place from the line.

The [outside](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3903.jpg) it’s nothing particular or too fancy. [It’s nice](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3852.jpg), with a wooden fenced area with a few tables and black chairs, two big French windows on one side and smaller windows on the side where the line is. The walls are painted of light cream and the writing ‘STRAWBERRY MOONS’ in bold bronze-y coloured letters.

All that Jackson and Danny have told him about this place, it’s that they will find a booth for them inside, since they are regulars and know the owners well. And after all, it’s only Thursday, so it isn’t that crowded. They also said that he would love the music, but Stiles doesn’t know if he should believe them. He went dancing a couple of times during college, but surely what he liked wasn’t the music.

He liked feeling free on the dance floor, the fact that even if he wasn’t the best of dancers he could let go and not care about who was around him. He liked to get lost in the feeling and not think about his problems or about college, training and monsters. He liked the fact that in the mass of sweaty people he was just another body and no one was judging him, his friends with him to share his freedom.

That was the feeling he wanted to get lost in today. With part of his pack with him, the situation about Jackson and Danny resolved all he wanted was to jump around with all of them and let go of the things that had dragged him down lately. They weren’t a lot, but he wanted to shake them away nonetheless.

As they get in, Jackson leads them surely through the place, finding them a place to sit right away.

They sit sparsely in a big [booth](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3468-2.jpg), the couch that circles the area black and comfortable, right next to the bar where Jackson is propped. He is saying something to the bartender, laughing and exchanging pats on the shoulders like old friends. Stiles supposes they are, and when Danny joins them with a big smile, the fact is confirmed.

When they come back to them, they say that the first round is on them to thank their pack for being here and their adoptive one for their support. Derek wants to argue, but Lydia shuts him up with a grin, telling him he is going to pay the next round, no need to worry.

They all order and while they’re waiting for their drinks, Stiles thinks that is the right moment to tell the other what the meeting was about and make the lingering tension go away. He wants to enjoy his evening after all.

He leans forward, placing his hands on the small table in front of him and clearing his throat. He knows that in the loud music of the club, human ears can’t hear it, but all the werewolves around the table turn to him and so do the others by reflection.

“Before starting the night,” he says, “I think it’s better if we talk about our dinner with Danae and Jon, so we can all relax and I can enjoy my night out,” he smiles at the others. The others nod and he looks at Derek, which gives him a look that says that he isn’t going to explain, Stiles has to.

He exhales, glaring at him and starts to explain. When Allison or Lydia don’t catch something because of the music, Jackson quickly tells them so Stiles doesn’t have to repeat himself.

Peter’s face says that he already imagined Derek would do something like this. Parrish is scowling lightly, but he seems to understand Derek’s decision. Lydia and Allison on the other hand, are glaring at Derek full force.

When Stiles finishes to talk the girls look like they are going to seriously hit Derek, that has his arms folded on his chest and a scowl on his face and is looking back at them.

“You’re an idiot.” Lydia says, and then she and Allison stand up, go to Derek punch him each on one shoulder and then hug him, telling him something in his ears. It’s all pretty quick and Stiles doesn’t grasp what they say to him, but he sees him unfold his arms and wrap them around the girls as the three of them start laughing. Crisis avoided then.

“We are going to talk about this tomorrow,” Lydia tells him, turning to face him and pointing her finger at him accusingly. So half avoided. He nods, smirking at her.

“So we can start the party now?” asks a smiling Danae from her seat next to Jon.

“Yeah, I think we can,” Allison answers smiling at her.

The tension is mostly gone, and as they fall easily in conversation and tasty drinks are filling their hands, it completely melts away.

Stiles is sipping his drink and he takes a moment to finally look the interior of the place, leaning back against the couch.

The [bar counter](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3598.jpg) is all white with dark bronze details, long with some high chairs surrounding it. [Tables are scattered all around the room](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3635.jpg), and multi-coloured lights shine everywhere in the room. The walls with the bottles and glasses behind the counter are lit up as well, a series of rainbow reflections that make the drinks look even more enticing. Stiles then turns around to see the dance floor and his mouth drops open as he sees it, and his ears give more attention to the music playing.

[The dance floor](http://strawberrymoons.novus.fatsomasites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2013/12/DSC_3525.jpg) is a little small but he doesn’t care because it’s in the nineties style. A chequed floor and half wall, in all different coloured lights. A few people are already dancing there, and he doesn’t recognize the song but his feet start to follow the rhythm anyway.

He turns around and finds Jackson looking at him with a big smug smirk on his lips, so he flips him off and rolls his eyes with a smile.

They sit there for a while, drinking and chatting but as Stiles hears the first notes of ‘Everybody’ by Backstreet Boys he starts to laugh and grabs Lydia’s hand, dragging her on the dance floor.

Allison, Jackson and Danae are following them a few seconds later, and they all lose themselves in jumping, dancing and singing like idiots, laughing at their own moves. They motion for the other to come join them, but only Danny, Jordan and, to Stiles surprise, Peter, walk to them and start dancing.

They dance for more songs, Stiles recognizes just some of them, but he dances anyway. The others around him come and go, to the table to drink and then back to the dance floor with him, sometimes with drinks for him too.

Jon joined them earlier and now Peter and Jordan are at the table with Derek, who hasn’t shown to Stiles his dance moves. That is something that Stiles has to fix.

He dances for a while longer, then as Cher’s ‘Believe’ is playing he makes his way to the table, and probably he is a little bit more tipsy than he thought, because he half-sits on Derek and throws an arm around his shoulder. Derek though, seems only amused by his behaviour.

“So, Alpha-oh-mighty, are you going to show me your moves?” he says to him with a big smirk.

“Maybe later, I was enjoying the show,” he smirks back, tilting his head to the dance floor where the others are dancing.

“Come on, Derek, we want you with us there!” he complains, pouting a little.

“I’ll join you in a while,” he says, “Go back dancing, I liked what I was seeing,” he adds in a whisper, getting closer to Stiles’ ear.

“Oh,” Stiles says, his eyes widening a little as he stares in Derek’s darker ones. “Ye-yeah, I’ll go back.” He get back on his feet, pointing his finger at Derek as he walks back towards the dance floor, “I’m waiting for you though. If you make me wait too much, I’ll find someone else to dance with.”

***

Derek just watches him, and Stiles thinks that he probably doesn’t believe him, so after three other songs and still no Derek on the floor with him, he starts eye-flirting with a guy he caught cheeking him out earlier. He is tall like Stiles, curly hair fall on his shoulders, and green eyes stare back at him. He has a killer smile, and lots of tattoos from what Stiles can see from his silky shirt open to the navel and with folded sleeves.

He gets closer to him with each move, and their eyes stay locked until they are close enough that the boy can lean to his ear and murmur a soft ‘Hi’. Stiles greets back with a flirty smile and they keep dancing.

A little later a shorter guy joins them, his eyes are suspicious but he says nothing as he approaches them. The curly, Harry, leans again to his ear with a smile.

“He’s my boyfriend,” he says, tugging the boy closer to them, “Louis,” he add.

“Nice to meet you,” Stiles mouths at the other boy, then leans back to Harry, “Isn’t he jealous that I’m dancing with you?”

“I like to make him a little jealous, and he likes to act jealous,” Stiles can feel Harry smirk in his ear, “Don’t worry, he won’t punch you.”

“I hope so,” Stiles says back laughing and smiles at Louis, trying to make him understand that he is no threat. And he surely isn’t, since the boy looks gorgeous as much as Harry, with chocolate hair in a high quiff, piercing blue eyes and a butt that Stiles would like to know how it feels to touch.

“So,” Harry says, swaying with his boyfriend and Stiles to yet another song, “That grumpy beauty at the booth down there is watching me like he wants to kill me, is he your boyfriend or something?”

“I wish,” Stiles answers, his mouth even more unfiltered from the alcohol and knowing that Derek can’t hear them with all this noise.

“Where you trying to make him jealous dancing with me?” Harry asks, grinning at him knowingly.

“Maybe,” Stiles answers, laughing at the light swat that Harry gives him. “No, I was just trying to at least get him to dance with me, but I suppose he isn’t interested as much as I thought,” he sighs.

“Well,” Louis interjects, getting closer to them, a devilish smirk spreading on his lips, “what about making both happen?”

“How?”

“Oh, don’t worry, babes,” Harry says, “We’ll get you your man,” and he winks.

Stiles laughs at that, his head falling back and exposing his neck. He feels a quick brush of lips on it, and when he looks up, Harry is smirking at him, and Louis is between them, facing Stiles.

He rests his right hand on Louis left shoulder, pushing him back on Harry’s chest as he reaches for his hips with his other hand. They are now sandwiching Louis, dancing like idiots to ‘Keep on moving’ by Five, but never losing physical contact from one another.

Now and then, they whisper things on their ears, hands sliding on arms, chests and back as the songs go on. Stiles can see the confidence of the relationship between the two boys in front of him, the way they know how to tease each other but at the same way make it seem like they are doing it to get into Stiles’ pants.

He feels Louis smirk on the skin under his jaw, after a bold roll of hips and Harry’s hand tugging lightly at the hair on his nape before letting go, another wink sent in Stiles direction accompanied by a victorious smile.

Stiles doesn’t have the time to ask himself what are those expressions for, because a set of strong hands settle on his hips and he is being pulled back against a solid chest. He gasp as the guys smirk at him, and turns his head to be met by Derek darkened eyes.

He isn’t moving behind Stiles, so he turns around in his hold and raises an eyebrow at him, smirking widely.

“I made some new friends to dance with since you weren’t around,” he whispers, his hands resting on Derek’s shoulders, “Aren’t they nice?”

“I’m sure they are,” Derek spits out, “They can dance on themselves instead of all over you,” his grips tightens a little on Stiles hips.

His smirk turns into a full-flirty smile and he leans towards his ear, even though he knows it isn’t necessary.

“Are you going to dance with me, then?” he whispers, his lips brushing Derek’s ear as he speaks.

Derek doesn’t answer, he just starts moving following the rhythm of yet another song that Stiles can’t name right now. Stiles smiles and starts moving with him. He is aware that this isn’t a song to be danced while glued to someone, but he doesn’t care.

Derek’s body feels good on him, his hands gripping him tight and his eyes never leaving his.

As the song changes though, Derek pushes him a little so they can dance better and Stiles smiles at him as Lou Bega’s voice presents Mambo No.5 and the music starts.

Stiles spins around and stars swaying with it, Derek close enough that he can feel the warmth of his body, but they aren’t touching. Stiles catches Harry and Louis watching them from afar and he smiles, sending them a wink and mouthing a thank you. They smile back at him and keep on with their dancing.

***

They dance and laugh, Stiles teases him turning back to face him and planting a hand on his chest, dragging it to tug on the loops of Derek’s pants. He mouths ‘A little bit of you makes me your man,’ along with the song and then turns back around, grabbing Derek’s hands and plastering himself to his chest, fingers intertwined on Stiles’ hips.

What Stiles isn’t ready for, though, is Derek teasing back. And he does it a hundred times better than Stiles.

They are dancing facing each other again, a few songs have passed from Mambo No.5 and Stiles isn’t expecting any retaliation, when Lady Marmalade starts and Derek grins at him, his eyes shining with intent.

Stiles’ mouth dries up, and his thoughts stop as Derek takes a step back and starts moving sensually to the rhythm of the song. He really did have his moves, because he wouldn’t have expected Derek to be moving this way, especially to a song like this.

But he moves his hips, his hands going up and down on his body, his eyes fixed on Stiles, who isn’t moving, just watching.

Derek tilts his chin towards him and motions him to come to him with a finger. Stiles complies and as soon as Derek’s had reach him, he is being turned around and pulled to Derek’s chest.

He starts moving again, brushing his hands all over Stiles sides, his body dragging against his.

Stiles is now moving with him and now their hips are grinding, he can feel his arousal grow and he his sure that Derek can smell it. He can’t smell Derek’s, but he doesn’t need to, cause he can feel it pressing against him.

He tilts his head back, leaning completely on Derek’s body as they keep moving together and he feels Derek inhale sharply, and then his mouth is on Stiles neck. Finally.

His lips are barely dragging across his skin, but he can feel his skin tingling at the sensation, the rasp of Derek’s stubble making it even more pleasurable.

 _Marmalade,_  
_Lady Marmalade,_  
_Marmalade_

Their hips keep grinding, Derek’s hand wander on Stiles chest while one of Stiles’ is buried in Derek’s hair to keep him there, with his mouth on his neck, the other on his hip, keeping him as close as possible. Derek’s mouth opens and he lightly bites under Stiles’ jaw, and Stiles can’t help the small whimper that escapes him.

 _Hey, hey, hey_  
_Touch of her skin feeling silky smooth_  
_Color of cafe au lait alright_

Derek’s hand is now under his shirt, mapping his skin in warm paths. Stiles does the same in the small portion of skin that he can reach on Derek’s hip and back. Letting out another quiet moan, he scratches with blunt fingers when he feels Derek tongue follow the tendon on his neck, straight to the juncture with his shoulder.

_Made the savage beast inside roar until he cried,  
More, more, more_

Derek growls in his ear, and spins him so quickly that Stiles has to wrap his arms around his neck to not fall.

Then Derek is kissing him. His mouth hot and firm against his, lips moving delicately in contrast with his hands that are still gripping Stiles tightly. Stiles kisses back, and when Derek realizes it, the kiss becomes more demanding. His tongue licks teasingly Stiles’ lips asking access, and with a shuddery breath, he gives it.

Derek licks into his mouth like he is trying to commit Stiles’ taste to memory. It’s a little desperate but Stiles wouldn’t have it any other way. He lets Derek explore his mouth, their tongues brushing and teasing each other for a while, then he decides that he wants to know what Derek tastes as well.

He pulls back a little, breaths a shared breath and then dives in again, this time pushing his tongue past Derek’s lips, that open up for him pliantly.

Derek tastes of fruity cocktails and chocolate and something that Stiles can’t quite place at the moment, but he hopes he’ll have the opportunity to do it another time.

Now all he wants to do is keep kissing Derek, feel his hands on him and touch him in return.

They keep kissing, their hands slowing on their bodies, their kiss gentler. Stiles feels the need to breathe, so he gives Derek small kisses, just a press of lips while the both regain their breath.

His lips stretch in a smile as Derek kisses him back in the same way, his hands now a warm press on his lower back, his thumbs stroking his hipbones. God, his hands are so big.

Stiles lets his hand caress Derek’s back, starting from his neck and going down in a repeated move, his other one in his hair, his nails rubbing his scalp gently.

He kisses him again, a longer press of open lips this time, and then he opens his eyes, resting his forehead against Derek’s, and finds him watching him back.

He looks vulnerable and Stiles is afraid that he is going to say that he regrets it, even though they both know it’s not true. But Stiles knows Derek after all this years, he knows how he might act if scared.

So he precedes him.

“Don’t you dare,” he says against his lips, their eyes still locked, “Don’t you dare say you regret it, Derek. I don’t, and you don’t either. Now we are going back to the hotel, you are going to kiss me more and then we’ll sleep.”

“Stiles…”

“No Stiles. No buts. No nothing.” Stiles stops him, “We’ll talk tomorrow, if you want. Now I want to enjoy you. I finally got to kiss you and I don’t want to stop just yet, so…”

“Okay…” Derek quietly breathes out, his eyes closed, but his hands firm on Stiles’ skin.

“Okay?” Stiles asks in disbelief.

“Yeah, okay,” Derek says again, his eyes fixed on Stiles’ again, “I want that too. But tomorrow we need to talk about this, Stiles. There are things I need to know and others I need to tell you.”

Stiles just nods frenetically and as Derek stops talking, he attacks his lips once again.

They kiss on the dance floor, the music and the bodies around them forgotten, until they hear someone clearing his voice neat them.

They look to their right to see their whole group watching them, smirks and knowing smiles all over the place.

“I think the song is fitting to tell you that we’d like to go back,” Lydia says, smirking at them and making the others laugh, except for Jackson who makes a grumpy face.

“And now I’m scarred for life, thanks Lyds!” he says with a heavy sigh.

As Stiles focuses enough on the song to recognize it, he understands why.

 _Boom, boom, boom, boom, I want you in my room_  
_Let's spend the night together from now until forever_  
_Boom, boom, boom, boom, I wanna double boom_  
_Let's spend the night together, together in my room_

Stiles rolls his eyes and buries his face in Derek’s neck with a groan, feeling his cheeks flush in embarrassment. He hears his quiet laugh on his ear and smiles back on his skin, thinking that his friends' teasing is worth if he gets Derek’s hands on him and the taste of his lips still on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I forgot to tell I'm sorry for the Larry bit.  
> The fangirl in me just thought they would fit in the scene, and I blame it on the fact that lately I'm reading lots of Larry fanfics in between the Sterek ones!  
> Hope you don't mind their appearance, it was just for today anyway ;)  
> (One direction in this universe don't exist, that's why Stiles has no reaction seeing them. Well other than thinking they are hot, but hey, no one can blame him!)


	15. 3.10 - ...And puppy piles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again if I'm late updating. I'm not feeling well lately and this reflects on my time and want to write!  
> Of course I'm not leaving this fic like this, I already know how it's going to go and I'm curious to know what you'll think about it.  
> I hope there aren't too many mistakes here, I'll be revising the whole work as I finish it just to be sure, for now just bare with me, please :)
> 
> Hope you all had a nice week-end :)

After saying goodbye to Danae and Jon, they decided to go back to the hotel together, Jackson and Danny joining them for the night. No one said it, but all of them needed the closeness of the pack tonight.

The ride back was pretty quick since it was past one in the morning, Stiles kept his hand on Derek’s the whole time. When they got to their suite, almost everyone sprawled around on the couches.

Derek was sitting in between Lydia and Allison, and the girls were quietly talking with him, while Jackson and Danny were cuddled near them. Peter had gone to his room to change and the same did Jordan.

Stiles still felt the light buzz of alcohol in his system, but it wasn’t too much, he just needed something to do to make it go away and sleep. An idea came to him almost right away, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

Stiles went to his room, and started looking for extra duvets, finding one inside the couch at the end of the bed. Apparently, it was a chest, not only a couch. He took the two extra pillows too and went back to the others. He dropped the things on the nearest couch and headed for Allison and Lydia’s room, glancing at them to see if it was okay and receiving a nod from Lydia. He opened the small chest at the end of the two beds and took out two other small duvets and two pillows, dropping them on the couch where he had left the others.

Jordan and Peter were still in their rooms, so Stiles went to them and asked if he could have the extra things, and after collecting them, he piled them on the couch.

Stiles examined the space in front of him and considered how to proceed with his plan.

The carpet was large and soft, covering a big part of the floor behind the couch. Maybe they could move the couch back and remove the coffee table from the middle, and that would get Stiles enough space.

He prodded Jackson on the shoulder, asking for help, and they moved the couch and the table, while Lydia, Allison and Derek watched them curiously. Stiles smirked at them and went on with his plan.

Now there was a lot of space between the two couches and the armchairs, so Stiles took the duvet he found in his room and placed it on the carpet. It was made for a queen-sized bed, so it covered all the space between the couches. He then started throwing the pillows there, adding the ones from the couches and the armchairs too. He put his hands on his hips and looked at the makeshift bed with a big smile.

Peter and Jordan had come back while he was setting everything in place and were looking at him confused. He turned around to look at everyone and clapped his hands.

“So,” Stiles said, smiling even more, “go get ready to sleep, it’s cuddle night!”

His statement was met with eye-rolls and arched eyebrows, but he was having none of it.

“Chop-chop,” he said, moving his hands in shooing motions to the girls. Allison chuckled, standing up and going to her room with Lydia. He grabbed Derek’s hand and dragged him to their room before he could say anything.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck, burying his head there. Derek wrapped his arms around him and he relaxed in the hug, placing soft kisses on all the skin he could reach, nuzzling his way up Derek’s jaw.

Derek’s hands were running along his spine, warm and firm against him, and Stiles relaxed even more in his touch. Stiles shivered at the thought of Derek’s hands on his skin, and his hands moved from around his neck to his face, cupping his jaw as he closed the small distance between them, tasting Derek’s lips again.

Derek kissed him back, softly and thoroughly, almost chastely, even though his tongue is battling with Stiles’ in his mouth. They kissed for a few minutes more, coming up for air now and then, hands stroking skin and hair.

Stiles gives Derek one last quick peck, then resting his forehead against Derek’s and inhaling deeply. Derek chuckles, his arms tightening lightly against Stiles’ sides as he places a soft kiss on Stiles’ temple.

“I like this,” Stiles says quietly, looking Derek in the eyes and running his hand in his hair slowly.

“I like it too,” Derek tells him, “But I think… I think we should talk about it, I don’t…”

“Tomorrow, yeah?” Stiles interrupts him, “Tomorrow morning I’ve got nothing planned, what about you?”

“Me too, I was thinking of going for a walk… If you want, we could spend the morning together…”

“Then tomorrow we’ll spend the morning together and we’ll talk about it,” Stiles said with a small smile, stepping back from Derek’s space, “Now let’s get changed and go back to the others, a puppy pile is waiting for us”

Derek chuckled again and bumped Stiles’ shoulder as he headed to his side of the bed to get changed.

Stiles shook his head with a big smile on his lips, and turned around to get his clothes, and found Derek already changing a few feet from him. He had just his boxers on and the shirt from earlier, that he was unbuttoning slowly, his eyes fixed on Stiles and the right corner of his lips curved upwards.

Stiles watched him as he undid the last buttons and more skin was revealed. He wanted to drag his hands all over his chest, feel the muscles move underneath his fingers. Derek’s shoulders flexed and the shirt fell to the floor, he bent to pick it up and Stiles saw the expanse of his back curving and his hands twitched, needing to touch so much.

He breathed deeply, shaking his head and clearing his throat. Derek sent him a knowing look and his smirk grew bigger as he eyed Stiles’ middle.

Stiles felt himself blush, realizing that he was half-hard. Damned hormones. And damned Derek and his body. He grabbed his clothes, trying to act casual and ignoring Derek’s smugness and his half-hard dick.

He changed quickly, his back to Derek who was now putting on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, his eyes never leaving Stiles’ body, and Stiles could feel them like a caress to his skin.

He tried to ignore that too, willing his arousal to go away so they could go back to the others. He closed his eyes and exhaled, shivering when he felt Derek’s hand on the back of his neck. He turned to him, and Derek kissed him softly, mouth closed, firm and quick.

“Let’s go,” he murmured on Stiles’ lips.

“Yeah,” Stiles said back in a breath, brushing their lips again.

Derek’s hand moved from his neck to his back, stopping at the small of his back and resting it there, applying a little pressure to make Stiles move. Stiles exhaled again and moved, his hand catching Derek’s and moving him along as they got out of the room.

The others had already gotten comfortable, sprawled on the duvet and the pillows on the carpet. There was a space in between them, and Stiles supposed it was for him and Derek, so he sat there tugging Derek down with him by his hand.

Derek went down easily beside him, his left arm wrapping around Stiles’ waist. Stiles snuggled closer and tugged one of the duvets on their legs, laying down with Derek and watching the others get comfortable around them. Derek wrapped his body around Stiles’, spooning him and Stiles got comfortable in the warmth emanated by his body, pushing his back against Derek’s chest to get even closer. Lydia was right in front of him, on her back and her hand was resting on Stiles’ arm, a sleepy smile on her lips. Allison was resting her head on Lydia’s thigh, her arm reaching past her so her fingers were touching Derek’s. Jordan was wrapped around her, their position similar to Stiles and Derek’s one, and his legs were brushing Stiles. Danny and Jackson laid curled around Derek’s head and back, a small space between them and the Alpha, their hands touching Stiles’ hair and Derek’s arm that was pillowing Stiles’ head. Peter was behind them, one hand resting on Jackson’s calf and the other touching Derek’s back.

They were all in contact in some way, and Stiles’ basked in the feeling of closeness and family, his pack so close to him. He was feeling so content that he dozed off quickly, his head filled with a nice buzz from the evening, his right thumb stroking Lydia’s wrist and the fingers of his left hand laced tightly with Derek’s, where his hand was resting on Stiles’ stomach.

He could hear soft whispers around him, lulling him into a deep sleep.

He fell asleep like that, his pack surrounding him, a content feeling in his chest, his heart light and a small smile on his lips.

***

Stiles woke up in his and Derek’s bed, the room quiet and scarcely lit around him.

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. His head was slightly pounding and he had a really bad taste in his mouth.

Slowly he got up and went to brush his teeth, chasing away the bad taste. He took the opportunity to relief himself, and after washing his hands he went back to the bed, face-planting on the soft pillow and dragging the covers back on himself. He reached blindly for his phone on the nightstand, and checked the time.

It was only nine, but Stiles felt rested enough, the only thing preventing him to leave the bed was the mild headache that was becoming more pronounced by the minute.

He rubbed his feet together, breathing deeply and trying to will the headache to go away alone.

His eyes were close so he heard even more distinctly the door opening softly, feet padding on the floor quietly. Something was placed on the bed and then he felt it dip under the weight of another body.

A gentle hand brushed his hair, and Stiles opened up his eyes slowly, finding Derek’s eyes on him as he smiled at Stiles.

“Hey,” Stiles said, his voice low and scratchy. He pressed his head on Derek’s palm, feeling the pounding slow down and the ache melt as gentle fingers carded through his air.

“Good morning,” Derek said back, his voice was low too, still raspy from sleep, so probably he hadn’t been awake for long. “I’ve brought you something to eat,”

“You brought me breakfast in bed?” Stiles asked, stunned.

“I…” a light blush crept on Derek’s cheeks, “Yes?”

“Mmm,” Stiles hummed smiling, “Thank you,” he said, sitting up carefully and pecking Derek on the cheek, his hand reaching out to curl around his neck and scratch lightly at his nape.

Derek smile widened a bit and he lifted the small tray that he had sat before on the bed, sitting it on Stiles outstretched legs.

Stiles sipped his coffee, his fingers wrapping around the warm porcelain of the cup.

“Where are the others?” he asked as he started munching on a piece of bacon, cutting it into bite sized pieces and popping it in his mouth.

“They all went their ways,” Derek told him, sitting more comfortably against the bedframe and stealing a bite of bacon from Stiles hand, “Lydia and Peter will join us later, they want to see the Southbank markets too,”

“What about going for a walk later and having lunch there?” Stiles proposed, “There is a big food market if I don’t recall wrong,”

“Yeah, I like the idea,”

“So who talks about it first? Me or you?” Stiles asked bluntly, his eyebrow raised in question, his face turned slightly towards Derek.

“Well…mmh…”

“Okay, I’ll start big boy, don’t worry,” he said with a small smirk, “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, you know? I like you, clearly. I guess you picked that up at this point, especially after yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Derek chuckled a bit, “I like you too, Stiles, but this could go wrong in so many ways…we just found some stability as a pack…I don’t want to be the cause for more pain,”

“Derek,” Stiles started, removing the tray from his legs and turning to face him completely, “We just kissed okay? We are friends, but I’d like to be something more, if you want the same we should try. I’m concerned about the pack well being as much as you are, but I don’t want to lose this chance…you know, I‘ve liked you from some time now, and honestly I’m a little tired of pretending I’m not interested in you in that way. I’m not saying we should jump on it and get married tomorrow, but we could go on a date, or a few, see if it works out, don’t you think? If not, it’ll suck for a while, but we are both adults now, and we have a pack to care for. You’re the Alpha and I’m the emissary, so we are almost equally invested in not screwing this up. And you know, it’s not just because you’re fit, well, I mean you are, and probably my teenage-self acknowledged the fact that I liked boys because of you, but now I’m not a teenager anymore, I’ve had the chance to know you better, and you know, I kind of like you being…you, grumpy and all,” he finished blushing, his hands moving wildly.

“I’m…” Derek breathed deeply, his eyes closed for a brief moment, focusing back on Stiles right away, “…I’d like that, but I’m still not sure that’s a good idea. I’m still worried…I usually fuck up with relationships, and to get to the point we are now, with you and all the others, it took me years…and then that’s the fact that I’m older than you, your dad surely won’t approve. And Scott…and the others…” Derek stood up and shook his head, “I don’t know Stiles, as much as I like you, I don’t want to fuck up everything…”

“I don’t care about your age, Derek, you are not 20 years older than me, just 4 years. And anyway I’m old enough that that kind of age difference means nothing. It meant nothing when I was 17, it means even less now. My dad doesn’t control me, if I want to go out with you I’ll go out with you. He’ll accept it anyway, though. Scott knows that I’ve liked you since forever…and the others, well I think they picked that up from a while now…” Stiles countered, blushing even more as he scoot up in the bed and wrapped his arms around Derek’s waist from behind. He rested his head in between Derek’s shoulder blades, and exhaled, “What does your wolf think about this?”

Stiles knew asking this was a low blow, but he asked anyway. He wanted to date Derek, he wanted to at least try to see where things might go with him.

“Stiles…” Derek said, sounding a little defeated, “My wolf…” he exhaled, “All right, let’s give this a shot…”

Derek’s hands rested on Stiles’ ones on his waist, and he allowed his body to rest against Stiles’, his back pressed against his firm chest.

“Come back to bed,” Stiles murmured in his ear, “We have time before going out, I want to snuggle for a while…”

Derek let Stiles’ hands guide him back under the covers, settling on his back with Stiles’ head on his shoulder and his arm thrown across his middle.

Stiles burrowed further in Derek’s warmth, his nose brushing his neck and inhaling deeply. His hands began to move on their own accord, caressing Derek’s chest and arms, tangling their fingers. He raised his head to look at Derek’s face, his hand founding its place in the curve of Derek’s cheek. The looked at each other for a few seconds, then Derek closed the distance between their mouths, lips brushing lightly against one another.

Stiles pushed on Derek’s lips, wanting more from the kiss, wanting to taste him again. Derek gave up under him, his lips opening and his hands finding their way under Stiles shirt, rubbing circles on the skin of his lower back, thumps drawing shapes on his hipbones.

Stiles whimpered quietly at the feeling and buried his hands in Derek’s hair, kissing him deeply.

They kissed for what felt like hours, but it wasn’t enough anyway.

Stiles could feel both their hard-ons as the kiss grew more and more filthy, but he wasn’t sure this was the right moment for something more than kissing. He had just convinced a reluctant Derek to date him, he didn’t want to scare him off going to fast with this.

It felt right just to kiss right now, he could take care of his aching dick later, where no one would mind the incredibly embarrassing amount of seconds it would take him to come after this heated kissing with Derek.

Derek’s tongue was in his mouth now, battling with his own, and Stiles tried to slow down the kissing even though he was enjoying the roughness of Derek’s stubble on his cheeks.

He started leaving light kisses on his lips, open-mouthed and with just a hint of tongue, grinning cheekily up at Derek as he tried to kiss him deeply again. Stiles pecked his lips a few more times, then moving to his jaw and his neck, nipping lightly at the juncture between his neck and shoulder and leaving a final sloppy kiss there, after biting there with intent. Derek’s hips bucked up at that, but Stiles flopped on his back, tangling his legs with Derek and resting a hand on the middle of his chest to feel it raise and lower with his breathing.

“I think it’s better if we stop here,” Stiles said to him, laughing quietly.

“Yeah, I think so too,” Derek said, and Stiles could see he smile on his lips even if he wasn’t looking at him. They turned to face each other at the same moment, and Derek pecked his lips, dragging his hand down to Stiles waistband, without breaking eye contact with him. His fingers dipped under the line, brushing the sensitive skin of his groin and Stiles’ eyes fluttered as he shivered from the touch.

“I’ll go take a shower,” Derek’s lips grazed over his as he spoke, and before Stiles could notice he was gone from the bed, shedding his clothes on the way to the bathroom and smirking at Stiles from the doorframe, pulling down his boxers and disappearing quickly behind the closed door.

Stiles groaned, him arm covering his eyes as he cursed Derek for being a tease, flashing him his bare arse like that. He felt his dick throb as the imagine presented itself in front of his eyes again, a quick flash of smooth, pale skin.

He chuckled with no real reason and rolled on his stomach, groaning again at the pressure on his dick. He was too far to convince his dick to behave, so he waited for his turn to take a shower rutting lazily into the mattress, then turning and wrapping a hand around his shaft until he came with a soft cry.

He cleaned haphazardly, not caring about Derek knowing what he had done because he was sure Derek was doing the same in the shower. His breath was coming back to normal, and he pushed off the covers to look for clothes to wear to go out.

Derek got out of the bathroom a few minutes later and his eyes flashed red at Stiles as soon as he inhaled the smell of sex in the room.

Stiles’ dick stirred a little in his underwear at that, and he rolled his eyes.

“Unbelievable,” he mumbled, hip-checking Derek to move him from the doorstep of the bathroom and get in.

He heard Derek laugh as he closed the bathroom door and he couldn’t help the smile that overtook his lips at the sound.

He was definitely on board to make this work.


	16. 4.1 - Apples and cinnamon brown sugar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm late again and I'm really sorry about it. I'm not leaving this story unfinished, I explained why I am late with publishing in my profile notes.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter and forgive me for the wait :)

As soon as they were both ready, the headed out, Stiles’ hand is slipping in Derek’s on their descent in the elevator.

Derek relishes in the soft comfort of Stiles’ fingers twined with his own, and squeezes lightly and smiles at Stiles when he looks at him as to ask if the gesture it’s okay.

When they are out of the hotel, they go to the bus stop that will take them to the London Eye. The trip with the bus was interesting as it was a few days prior, but Derek enjoyed it much more because Stiles kept commenting things that caught his eyes, the tour guide completely forgotten.

Derek took a few photos of places that in the precedent ride he hadn’t been able took, and took advantage to shoot some more of Stiles too, and even if he had a light flush on his cheeks, Stiles was more than pleased to be his model, flailing and smiling and laughing constantly.

When they got down at their stop at the London Eye, it was almost noon and the food market was open from noon to 8pm on Fridays, as the tour guide had told them in the bus. They decided that there was no hurry to get there, so they strolled calmly on Belvedere Road, heading toward [Southbank Centre](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/) and enjoying the view.

Their hands were laced all the time while they walked, even while Stiles gesticulated wildly lost in his explanations and waved their joint fingers in the air.

[The market](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/markets) appeared in front of them in all his activity, bursting with people, sounds and smells.

Derek didn’t enjoy being in the middle of a crowd, but he liked this kind of places, where he could hear laughter from every corner, smell different foods at every step. Sometimes it could be too much for his werewolf nose, but right now he was enjoying it a lot.

They moved towards the colourful stalls, and walked among the people, checking all the food on their way, chatting about what to get and what not, were to sit and what to see later. Stiles was grinning broadly next to him and Derek felt serene, his wolf at ease. He could smell Stiles happiness, a rich aroma of baked apples wafting from him and filling his senses.

Derek couldn’t help the smile that stayed on his lips the entire time, chuckling amused at Stiles when he spotted some particular food ha wanted to taste to the already long list.

When they got to the end of the line of stalls, they walked backwards, stopping here and there to buy the food they noticed before. Derek’s hand were full of bags and containers, just as much as Stiles’ ones when they finally spotted a free table in the middle of the crowd.

The settled all their food on the table, sitting on the chairs next to each other, even though there was four at the table. Derek didn’t mind having Stiles close, and the thought surprised him but at the same time it didn’t.

While they ate, they chatted for a bit, but after a while, they fell in a comfortable silence, broken now and then by Stiles’ moaning commentary of how good the food was.

Derek looks at him, loosing himself in his thoughts. He had accepted to try this, but even if he felt comfortable and at ease with Stiles, his wolf more relaxed than Derek could recall him being in the past years, he had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

Watching Stiles every move as he eats, listening to his chatter and heartbeat, Derek realized that the feeling wasn’t just being afraid to screw this up, but mostly the fear of opening up again to someone in that way. Rationally speaking, Derek knew that Stiles would never hurt him on purpose, not now, not after all this years. But he couldn’t help feeling scared about it, about how deep his feeling might be already.

Stiles had told him that he liked him, that he had liked him from a long time, but Derek wasn’t sure they were talking about the same feeling. For Derek and his wolf, Stiles was like the perfect match and Derek chest constricted a little realizing this.

Right now it wasn’t the time to think about it, not when Stiles was looking at him with a perplexed look on his face, his half eaten sandwich on the paper in front of him.

“Are you all right?” he asked Derek, his hand reaching out to play with the fingertips of Derek’s hand that was resting on the table.

“Yeah,” Derek answered, smiling at him, “just lost in my head for a second.”

“And what is going on in there?”

Derek shrugged, taking a bite of his food; he wasn’t going to tell Stiles now. He wanted to spend a nice day with him, no sad or complicated feelings getting in the way.

“Come on, sourwolf, tell me,” Stiles said, scooting closer and poking him in the ribs.

“Nothing to worry about now, Stiles,” he said, grabbing his poking hand, “I just want to spend a nice day together,”

The smile that broke on Stiles’ face made Derek understand that for now Stiles would let go about this, and Derek tangled their fingers and squeezed Stiles’ hand as a thank you, kissing his knuckles softly.

“Oh my God, you two saps.You are disgusting.” Lydia’s voice came from behind them, and Derek spun around in his seat to face her and Peter. She had a teasing smile on her lips, and his uncle was smirking widely at them, a knowing glint in his eyes. Derek can feel himself blushing, but he doesn’t let go of Stiles’ hand.

Peter and Lydia sit on the two chairs opposite to them. Lydia sets down her own food and she starts to eat while she and Stiles talk about what she did this morning. Stiles his eating with his left hand only, so Derek releases a little the grip he has on his fingers to let him know that is okay to pull away and use his other hand to eat too. Stiles just glances at him, winking and settling his hand more firmly in Derek’s.

“So,” Peter says, and Derek knows that he is going to say something about all this and make him even more flustered, but what comes out from Peter lips is “What are we going to do later?”

“I don’t know,” Derek says, a little taken aback by Peter’s lack of comments on the situation, “We wanted to visit the various venues and everything, I think…”

“All right,” he says, taking some fries from Derek’s plate, and adding nonchalantly, “Nice choice for your date, anyway.”

Derek knows the tip of his ears right now are probably bright red, but he can’t help it.

“I haven’t asked him out as a date today,” he mumbles, glaring at Peter, and thinking about how much this had felt like a date to him. Maybe he should have asked Stiles earlier.

“Such a pity,” Peter smirked at him, “This is such a nice place for a first date,”

“Yeah well,” he mumbles, glancing at Stiles and seeing him relaxed on his seat, him and Lydia now listening to Derek and Peter. Stiles has an amused glint in his eyes, and his thumb is now stroking Derek’s hand.

“I think we can count it as our first unofficial date,” Stiles interjects, “What do you think?” he asks Derek with a smile.

“I think that’s fine to me,” Derek says to him, smiling happily.

“Good,” Stiles’ own smile mirroring Derek’s one.

“If this is how they’re going to interact from now on, I think I’m gonna get diabetes,” Peter stated, “And I’m a werewolf.”

“Oh, shut up.” Stiles said throwing a piece of crumpled paper at him.

Peter caught it and tossed it back at Stiles, hitting him square in the face. Stiles’ eyes widened and Peter’s grin was now smug, Lydia and Derek chuckle at the scene.

They spend some more time talking and eating, then they decide to go explore all the venues of the Southbank markets. They see the [Royal Festival Hall](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/royal-festival-hall) and the Hive situated in the roof of the building, the [Hayward Gallery](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery) and the [Queen Elizabeth Hall](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/queen-elizabeth-hall).

It’s already dark outside when they finish visiting, so they decide to rest for a while in the [Garden](http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/Queen-Elizabeth-Hall-Roof-Garden) on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. They walk around a little, enjoying the smell of grass, looking for a spot where to sit.

They decide to settle down on the grass and eat what’s left of their food, chatting a little more.

Stiles leans on Derek as they sit down, his back resting on Derek’s chest, his head on his shoulder and Derek wraps his left arm around him, his hand resting on the curve of Stiles’ hip as he draws him closer.

All in all, Derek is pleased of how the day went. He enjoyed the time spent with Stiles alone and with the others, the warmth of Stiles’ touch a constant throughout the day, be it in his own hand or with a lingering touch from time to time.

He finished his caramelized fruit, discarding the small container in the bag they have kept for their garbage, and wraps his other arm around Stiles.

He looks up at him, smiling a content smile and Derek wants to kiss him so much right now.

_You can_ , his wolf says to him, and Derek knows that he is right, so he just leans down and catches Stiles lips with his own in a lingering, soft brush.

Stiles’ smile was now shy and Derek moved to leave another kiss on his cheek, burying his nose in his neck, nosing there and inhaling the smell of Stiles’ happiness, smiling on his skin.

Stiles’ hands settle on his, resting on his stomach, as they listen to Lydia on the phone with Allison, making plans for dinner. When she hangs up, she tells them that Allison and Jordan found a nice place where to have dinner. Lydia didn’t knew the name of the place, just that it’s a seafood restaurant in Mayfair.

***

They headed back to the London Eye, calling a cab to pick them up from there and took them back to get changed.

When it arrived, Lydia told the cab driver the address of their hotel, and they climbed on the back seats. The ride was a little slow, but fortunately, they didn’t get stuck in traffic.

Jordan and Allison were already in the room when they got there, lazing on the couch and ready to go out.

Stiles sat down with Allison and Jordan asking them about their day, telling Derek to shower first. Lydia and Peter were already gone in their rooms, so Derek went too, brushing the nape of Stiles’ neck on his way to the room.

He took a pair of [black trousers, a white long-sleeved tee with grey dots and a grey-white jacket](http://sev.h-cdn.co/assets/cm/15/07/54db6d14cb08e_-_sev-tyler-hoechlin-de.jpg) from the closet and went to take a quick shower. After the shower, he got dressed and fixed his hair, styling them backwards. He exited the bathroom, to find Stiles sitting on the bed, his clean clothes in a folded pile next to him.

Stiles blatantly checked him out from head to toe, standing up and grabbing his clothes.

“I like it,” he said in a whisper before kissing him. Derek’s hand went around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at the back and bringing him closer. Stiles nipped his bottom lip playfully, then quickly kissing his lips once more. He stepped back and ran his hand on Derek’s chest, from his shoulder down to his navel, his hand barely touching the fabric and leaving a tingling sensation on Derek’s skin.

Before Derek could kiss him again, Stiles turned around and went to the bathroom, leaving Derek with his taste on his lips and skin burning from his touch, craving more.

Derek shook his head, snorting with a small smile tugging at his lips. He went out of the room, sitting on the couch where now Peter had joined Jordan and Allison and they were talking about the visit at the zoo that they had organized for Sunday.

Derek listened to their chatting, amused at how much Jordan was excited about it. Stiles came out of their room fifteen minutes later, and Derek scanned his body wrapped in tight black trousers and a deep red Henley, his jacket in one hand and his phone in the other. He sat next to Derek, almost instantly reaching for Derek’s hand to play with his fingers. When Lydia joined them, they called another cab and went down to the hall to wait for it.

They piled up in the backseats, Allison telling the driver where to take them, an amused smile playing at her lips. Derek, Stiles, Peter and Lydia still didn’t knew where they were going, but Allison and Jordan assured them that they would like the place.

After a while, the cab stopped and they got out finding themselves in front of a high-class restaurant, where Jackson and Danny were waiting for them.

Derek’s eyes widened a little at the exterior, all white walls, glass and black wood. A valet was standing near the doors, and Derek thought that maybe he was a little underdressed for this place, but then looking at the others he noticed that all of them were dressed like him, in a mix of casual-formal clothes.

Stiles’ laugh pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to him with a curious expression wanting to know why he was laughing. Stiles caught his eye and still laughing pointed his finger to the restaurant’s sing that Derek hadn’t noticed.

The place was called [Scott’s](http://www.scotts-restaurant.com/#). Derek chuckled, turning to Allison to find her giggling with Lydia.

Before going in, they asked to the valet if they could take a picture in front of the sign next to the door. The man accepted and kindly offered to take it for them, so they all gathered around the writing and smiled at the camera.

Allison sent it immediately to the pack’s group chat, and they entered the restaurant and asked for a table.

The dinner was amazing. They laughed and ate lots of delicious food, sharing details of their day.

Jackson and Danny told them that the Clarke’s pack had invited the lot of them for dinner tomorrow, for a barbeque night at their house outside London. Danny told them that casual clothes were mandatory, because they wanted to spend a relaxed night just getting to know the other pack members and Jackson added that maybe they could even go for a shifted nightly run in the near natural preserve.

They were all pleased by the invite and Stiles sent right away a text to Remus to tell him that they were gladly accepting the invite for the day after. Remus answer arrived a few minutes later, saying that they were free to come whenever they wanted from the afternoon and adding the address of the place at the end of the text.

During the dinner, Stiles had kept touching him and invading his space, small innocuous brushes of his fingers on his hand or his arm, his fork reaching out to his plate to taste Derek’s food or to make Derek taste his own. They had reached out for each other every time they were talking with someone else gaining a lot of teasing by the others, so after the second course and lots of blushing, Stiles had tangled his foot with Derek’s while he was talking with Jordan, giving them a point of constant contact, away from the teasing eyes of their friends.

Derek was feeling so pleased by this day that he almost didn’t want it to end, but then he thought about going back to the hotel and getting under the covers with Stiles, curling around him and breathing only his scent, happy and rich, sharing kisses and soft touches.

Derek wanted more already, but he wasn’t sure that that was a good idea, but he didn’t care. He liked Stiles, not only physically, so if for now what they were doing was only kissing and above the belt caressing, he was fine with it.

They way Stiles was acting with him, even if it was just something so small like that, made the bad feeling of this morning recede and his hope blossom a little more at the thought of what this between them could mean, what could become.

They said goodbye to Jackson and Danny and went back to the hotel, sleepily stumbling back in the suite and saying goodnight to everyone before Derek dragged Stiles in their room.

They kissed lazily and sloppily, Derek walking them backwards to the bed and taking his clothes off along with Stiles’ ones. Derek touched every inch of Stiles’ skin that he was uncovering and Stiles did the same with him.

When they were both left with just their briefs, Derek placed little kisses along Stiles’ jaw and nipped at his earlobe.

“Can we sleep like this?” he asked, needing to mix their scents, to feel Stiles’ skin under his hands and against his own.

“Yeah,” Stiles said breathily, arching his neck and offering it to Derek, his hand slinding from Derek's shoulders to his hair. 

Derek’s wolf grumbled, pleased at the offering and Derek descended from Stiles’ ear to the dip in his collarbone biting softly at the skin on his way down. When he got to the juncture between his shoulder and neck, Derek bit more roughly, making Stiles whimper and the grip he had on Derek’s hair tightened a bit.  Derek sucked a small bruise on the already red skin, licking, nipping and kissing there so Stiles would continue to make those pleased sounds and Derek could leave a mark that was enough to satisfy his wolf’s want to mark Stiles as his.

He went upwards to Stiles’ lips, leaving a trail of wet kisses on the other side of his neck, and with a final deep kiss on his lips, he moved back the covers and tugged Stiles down with him on the bed.

They curled around each other, kissing until their lips were red and raw and their eyes were fighting to stay open. Stiles burrowed his head in Derek’s neck, nipping softly exactly in the same spot where Derek had left his mark on his neck, then placing a small kiss there and exhaling happily against his skin.

Derek’s arms were wrapped around him and he kissed the top of Stiles’ head, taking in their mixed scent, apples and cinnamon brown sugar, his eyes closing as a pleased rumble escaped his lips and his grip tightening around him as he curled up even more around Stiles’ body to keep him safe and warm while they slept.


	17. 4.2 - Thoughts tinged of hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter begins with Stiles' POV, then switches to Derek's and in the end there's a small POV from someone else :)  
> Hope you enjoy it, have a nice start of week :)
> 
> P.S: Sorry for the shitty editing, but I'm trying to write as much as I can and that is kind of in the background, I'll try to make it better as soon as I can!!

Saturday morning Stiles wakes up with Derek curled around him, his body warm against his.

He untangles himself from the wolf’s limbs, trying not to wake him and surprisingly he succeeds. Quietly he goes to the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face, then he grabs his  phone and heads for the kitchen, checking on Derek to see if he is still sleeping. He is.

No one is around, all the doors are closed and Stiles knows that no one had anything planned in the itinerary for today, but he supposes that being Saturday morning, the all decided to stay in bed a little more.

This week has been long and tiring for everyone, but Stiles feels energized, even if it’s just nine.

He flops in one of the couches, scrolling through his phone while he decides what to do. He would like to call Scott, but in Beacon Hills it’s the middle of the night, so he has to wait at least until lunch time to call.

He texts him anyway, asking to letting him know when he’s free so Stiles can call him and they can update each other. He does the same with his father, even if after their last call, Stiles was a little bit wary to talk with him. Especially now that something was DEFINITELY going on between him and Derek.

They had sent some texts to each other during the week, but Stiles had tried to push back calling him as much as he could. He knew that Jordan or Peter were keeping him updated though, because he seemed to know everything that was happening. Well, minus him and Derek, or at least he hoped so.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want his dad to know, but this was something so new that he was afraid any external influence might make Derek back up. Especially if it was from someone so close to Stiles, someone like his dad.

Stiles knew that Derek was still unsure about them, and he couldn’t blame him because he was too. But Stiles wanted to try and see what they could become. Around Derek he felt like he had never felt before, and he knew that this was cliché and what not, but he couldn’t help but think that maybe all this years spent knowing each other were just to get to this point.

He was already aware about his feelings for Derek, but surely he wasn’t going to spring them on him from the get go, above all because he was sure that he himself wasn’t ready to speak those feelings yet.

He wanted to let them develop and let them out at the right time, to feel them so deep that he couldn’t do anything but give them to Derek. And he hoped Derek was ready to accept them, when the time came.

He and Derek had kissed for the first time two days ago, and he was already thinking so far ahead. In a way it was a good thing, a testament of the seriousness of his commitment to this, but on the other was bad, because if Derek decided that he wasn’t worth it, or that he wasn’t ready for this, Stiles would end up with his heart broken. He shook his head, smiling mockingly at his thoughts.

Exhaling deeply, he got up and went to make breakfast. He decided that he wanted to surprise Derek with breakfast in bed, just like Derek had done the day before with him. He just hoped that he wouldn’t wake up before he had everything ready.

He tried to be as quiet as he could, mixing the batter for the pancakes, cooking bacon and eggs on one side and then starting with the pancakes on the other. He made enough for everyone, setting everything in the small oven and filling two plates for him and Derek, with two coffee mugs.

He searched for a tray and after digging around a little he found the one Derek used the day before. He set everything in it and got back to his and Derek’s room.

He pushed the door open with his hip, and noticed that Derek wasn’t in bed. He probably was in the bathroom, so Stiles put the tray on the small table near the windows and opened the shutters a little, letting the sun light up the room a little. He sat down on the chaise next to it and waited for Derek.

When he got out of the bathroom, he was still wearing just his boxers and Stiles enjoyed the view as Derek spotted him and went to him, smiling sleepily.

Derek dropped a kiss to his head mumbling a good morning, before sitting on the chaise next to his.

“You brought me breakfast in bed?” Derek said mimicking Stiles’ words from the day before, smirking at him.

“Well, that was the idea, but it turned out being more of a breakfast in chaise than in bed,” Stiles said, “If you want we can go back to bed and you can thank me there after…” he wiggled his eyebrows at Derek.

Derek smiles amused at him, and nudges at his knee with his foot, shoving him lightly.

Stiles grabs his cup and watches Derek eat his breakfast while he sips his coffee. A small smile curves the werewolf’s lips as he takes small bites of his food, savouring every bit of it. He looks relaxed and satisfied, the last traces of sleep still making his face soft, his movements unhurried.

Stiles has never seen him this at ease. Maybe it’s because before this week, Stiles had never got the chance to be in such close quarters with a just awaken Derek, maybe it’s because they cleared the air about this thing between them, or because they are in a foreign land. But he looks so at peace that Stiles can’t help the content feeling that settles in his heart as he watches him.

He wants to hug him. Sit in his lap and wrap his arms around him, feel the softness of his hair on his fingers and enjoy the sensation of their tangled bodies, of their shared breaths. He can do that now, so as soon as Derek finishes eating his breakfast, he will.

Derek is offering him the plate with the bacon and eggs, where he has left Stiles’ share and Stiles takes it, noticing the faint flush high on Derek’s ears as he hands him the food. So he was aware of Stiles watching him. He realizes that maybe the wolf hadn’t mind him watching, but that at the same time he is embarrassed by the attention given to him.

Stiles is happy to be able to watch him and to gain some kind of reaction just by doing that. He knew that Derek could easily get any reaction from him, even without acknowledging him, just being. So it was nice knowing that he too had some kind of ‘power’ over him.

He ate his food, glancing at Derek now and then and catching him glancing back at him. When Derek had finished, Stiles was still eating his share of pancakes but Derek took his plate from him, parting his legs and flopping down between them, resting his back against Stiles chest.

“Comfortable?” Stiles asked.

“Almost,” Derek said and then grabbed Stiles’ hands and brought his arms around him, resting them on his stomach.

Stiles could feel the muscles moving as Derek reached for the shutter’s switch and raised them higher, letting the warm sun stream on their bodies. Stiles stretched a little under Derek’s body, his hands moving at Derek’s sides, brushing up his torso. His right one moved back on Derek’s ones while his left went to his hair, Stiles giving in to his want of feeling their softness against his fingers.

Derek hummed softly at the sensation and dipped his head back on Stiles’ shoulder, burrowing in the press of his fingers against his scalp and Stiles brought Derek’s body closer to his, folding his legs at his sides and framing him with his own body.

They stayed like that for some time, enjoying the quiet around them and the warmth of the sun and their own bodies. Stiles was so relaxed, that when Derek chuckled quietly against him, he jumped lightly, surprised by the sudden noise.

“What’s up?” he asked, whispering without a reason.

“Just the others saying how grateful there are about the breakfast,” Derek answered, just as quietly, but with a smirk playing at his lips.

“And what’s so fun about it?” Stiles asked again with his brows furrowed.

“Oh nothing,” he said, another chuckle escaping his lips, “They are just happy to have such a good pack mom…” he added, looking up at him, still smirking.

Stiles rolled his eyes and then looked down at Derek that was smiling at him brightly, and he couldn’t help but kiss him softly.

“Well, I guess that now it’s kind of fitting…” he mumbled against Derek’s lips.

“Yeah, I guess…”

“So, now I got a bunch of pups…” he said, “I too young to be a mom,” he continued, dropping his head on the back of the chaise and covering his eyes with a dramatic exhale.

Derek laughed at him and stood up, grabbing his hands and pulling him up too, sliding his arms around Stiles’ waist and kissing him.

“You already had them,” Derek told him.

“Mh yeah, I guess so,” Stiles replied before kissing Derek again.

They kissed slowly and lazily, Stiles’ hand went to Derek’s neck and moved up and down at the back of it. After a while Derek gave him one last kiss, just a brush of lips on the corner of his mouth.

“Our presence is requested by the pups,” Derek said, resting his forehead against Stiles’. “Peter has said to the others that he can hear us making out, so they are allowed to come here and ruin the moment if they want. We better beat them and join them in the kitchen…”

“I think that’s better, yes,” Stiles chuckled.

“Ehi, wait,” he continued, grabbing Derek’s hand as he was walking to the door.

“What?”

“Is Peter one of our pups too?” Stiles asked, then cursing himself for his choice of words and blushing deeply.

Derek laughed, shaking his head at him, even though a light blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Peter says ‘No Stiles, I’m not your pup. But thanks for the breakfast anyway, mom’”

“Oh god, I hope he never calls me that for real,”

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Derek told him, resuming his walk towards the door, “He heard you and now he is going to do it as much as he can,”

“If he wants to eat again something made by a Stilinski, he better not,” Stiles stated as they got out of the room.

“Oh I don’t know mom, maybe someone will cook it for me anyway…” Peter voice answered and as they approached the kitchen Stiles could see and enigmatic smile on his lips.

He was confused by Peter’s words, but he let it go as Derek sat down on one of the chairs and dragged him to sit on his lap. The Alpha rested his chin on Stiles’ shoulder, listening to Lydia making plans for lunch and agreeing with her about something. Stiles wasn’t paying much attention, he was just happy that no one was making a scene about him and Derek.

He noticed Lydia watching them a couple of times, a strange glint in her eyes and a small smirk on her lips every time his eyes and hers met. He had noticed the same behaviour the day before, while they were walking around the Southbank markets. It was like she knew something he didn’t. And that was strange, because if it was about him and Derek, probably they were the only ones who know about all this. The only thing she might knew where Stiles’ infinite drunk ramblings about Derek’s stupid perfect abs, and stupid perfect face and so on.

Now, though, her eyes were telling him something else, so he guessed that they had to talk soon. He wanted to know what she knew and he apparently was missing. He was curious, especially because it was something about them, and Stiles would take all the possible notions that could help him make their relationship something…more.

He felt Derek’s hand squeeze lightly his hip, and he placed his own hand on it. He turned his face toward Derek’s, bumping his temple with his nose.

“Everything all right?” Derek whispered in his hear.

“Yeah,” he murmured back, brushing his lips against his skin, burying his nose into Derek’s air.

He heard more than see it Allison and Lydia cooing at them, and he was almost sure she had taken a picture, but now he didn’t care about it.

“You’re disgustingly cute,” Jordan said with a strange expression on his face.

“Thanks, I guess,” Stiles said.

He was aware that Jordan might tell his dad about him and Derek, but he was sure that he wouldn’t, he would let Stiles have that conversation with his dad because he knew that it was better that way. Stiles on the other hand wasn’t sure if it was better that someone else told his father or not, because that conversation was going to be harsh, and Stiles didn’t want to have an argument with his father while he was on the other side of the world.

So his plan basically was to push back that conversation as much as he could, maybe hint at something if they talked today and just leave it to when he was back in Beacon Hills. When maybe he could tell him something more than ‘Hey dad, me and Derek like to kiss and we are trying this thing together, but actually I don’t know if he’s ready for something more. I’m sure as hell am, but you know, he’s a sourwolf, so that might take some convincing.’

Yeah, Stiles could totally see where that conversation would end. With wolfsbane bullets.

Well, he was sure that, when the time to have that talk with his dad will present itself, Stiles will stood his grounds. He wants this with Derek, he just needs a few days to figure out if for Derek it’s the same and if he is ready for this.

He wouldn’t mind progress past making out, you know. Sexy times for Stiles would be very very much appreciated. So he hopes he can convey to Derek his intentions and avoid death by throat ripped out, with teeth.

Somehow, though, the way Derek was holding him pressed close even if the others were there makes Stiles think that maybe it isn’t that impossible for Derek to feel the same as him.

 

***

 

Derek felt so good with Stiles on his lap, the others surrounding them and not questioning their position. It was like they knew it would happen sooner or later, and Derek realized that he was hoping for this since he had met Stiles. And that was kind of a strange thought.

He thought about the first time he had seen the teenager, when he had come back to look for Laura. He was so focused finding out what had happened to her, that he hadn’t given attention to his wolf’s reaction to the boy standing in front of him.

Stiles had been all gangly limbs and fast talks, but he had frozen in front of Derek. He knew who he was before even talking to him, but hadn’t looked at him with pity. In his eyes there was just this sort of understanding, and Derek remembers feeling need for him, but the grief and anger were too strong to recognize any other feelings at the time.

In all the mess involving Scott transformation and Peter’s death, to him Stiles was just the annoying kid best friend with the new wolf his Uncle had just created. After that, it went all downhill. He turned a bunch of kids thinking of doing the best for them, while he was in reality just thinking about himself. He hadn’t been ready at that time. The kanima and the Argents made Derek realize that he could trust Stiles, they had saved each other’s lives plenty of times by then and he could admit at least to himself that he already liked Stiles’ at that point. It was a constant in the mess around them, and Derek’s wolf gained strength from it.

When the Alpha pack had come looking for them, Jennifer barging in his life and revealing her true intentions, Derek thought the last shards of his heart had been destructed forever. But that wasn’t true. Finding his sister, even after losing two of his betas had given him back something he thought he had lost forever. Stiles had kept him up through all this, even after all he had been trough to save his dad, Melissa and Chris.

Derek had tried to keep an eye on him, Scott and Allison, try to prevent the darkness from drowning them. For Scott and Allison it was easier, they had each other, even if they weren’t together at the time. They had decided to break it off completely after saving their parents, but they had stayed friends, supporting the other through the nightmares. They had all tried to help Stiles too, but things for him were different.

Derek had been devastated when he had realized the nogitsune had claimed Stiles’ body. His wolf had wanted to maim, kill, erase the threat right away, but then he had seen Stiles’ face in front of him, and even knowing that it wasn’t really Stiles, he could do much against him. He was too afraid to lose him.

They had made it this time too, some more damaged than others, but in the end they were all alive. They had almost lost Allison, but fortunately they had been able to save her.

It had all seemed to go back to normal for a while, but Derek could feel that something wasn’t right. So when Kate had kidnapped him, he wasn’t so surprised. He was surprised at the end of that charade by the fact that Stiles had been the most affected by his teenage self, by his almost death. That was the first time he turned into a full wolf, but it was something totally subconscious.

He, Cora and Peter had left for a while after that. They needed to be together and get to know each other again after all that time. They missed all the Dread Doctors affair and something with a crazy coven, but returned just in time to help with the other supernatural things threatening their territory. Things had gotten better with Scott and his pack, and he had admitted to Derek that he was waiting for him to come back, so they could talk about the Hale territory that Scott had protected for them while they were away.

Derek hadn’t expected this. He had imagined Scott fighting for his territory, but apparently Scott hadn’t considered it his from the beginning. It was like he had acted as a second in command to Derek, so they had made a new agreement and started working together. He had tried turning into a full wolf lots of times, but he had been able to do it only after another year or so.

It had been difficult, because he had to let go of lot of things to be able to finally connect with his wolf. But he was more stable, his new agreement with Scott had been going so well that after a short while their pack practically merged together (even though they were one from the beginning, they had just made it official). So at a certain point something had shifted in him and at the next full moon he had found himself turning fully without even trying, just giving in to the pull of the moon.

It had been amazing. He and Scott had joined their packs in a nightly run, just a few of them hadn’t been able to join them. They had run for hours, chasing, jumping at each other, enjoying completely the freedom that the moonlight lit preserve gave them.

After that, things went smoothly, the last year of college had seen Derek getting more attached to his betas and to the adults of the pack, him lending an hand with keeping an eye of them for Stiles, Allison and Scott and enjoying it. The Nemeton had started to grow back to his former glory, just as Stiles had started his apprenticeship with Deaton. Derek had felt the earth of his land change under his feet, he could feel it in the air, taste it almost. His wolf had relaxed gradually after that, like he was feeling safe in his own home after so long.

Derek had decided to rebuild the Hale house, but he hadn’t told no one about it apart from Peter, Cora and Scott. He knew that the same day they had flown to England, Scott had started supervising the construction site, where the remains of the house where being demolished and the new building was probably being constructed by now. Derek could bet that probably Scott was helping around and that they were far ahead with the works, more than they would be without someone keeping an eye on them maybe. He was getting daily updates about the works, but it wouldn’t be bad if he could talk to Scott a little about it.

He couldn’t wait to see the pack’s reaction when the house would be done. He is planning about asking the others if they want to come live there with him, to have to whole pack together in a safe house. Even the adults of the group if they want, but probably the Sheriff, Chris and Melissa won’t want to move from the houses they had lived big part of their lives in. The new project he had made for the house allowed a private place for everyone, like some kind of apartments in the house, soundproofed rooms included, and a big communal area in the ground floor.

Stiles of course had his own space, but Derek right now was hoping that if this thing between them continued in Beacon Hills, than Stiles would consider sharing Derek’s apartment with him at a certain point.

He was scared from how much he wanted this to be something more, how much he hoped that Stiles wanted the same for them. It scared him, but at the same time, he was so tired of being afraid of his feelings that the part of him that wanted this was slowly overpowering the fearful one.

Maybe he was ready for this, maybe it was the right time for him to try again. He knew he could trust Stiles, he knew they could have this together. And if they way Stiles leaned on him, his fingers tangling in his as they talked with the others in the kitchen, relaxed in each other’s arms, if it was saying something to Derek, it was that they had a chance, and that probably Stiles felt the same about him and wanted the same for them.

***

Lydia was trying not to laugh at the two sappy idiots in front of her right now. It wasn’t that difficult because she was torn between laughing at them or lose herself in their cuteness.

They finally had made it. She was waiting for this practically from when she had discovered about werewolves. And that was a long time ago, but Lydia was nothing if not a patient one. Now her patience was been rewarded, and she couldn’t help smirking at an unaware Stiles.

They had still a long way ahead of them, but Lydia could see that just after a mere two days they were already accepting the fact that they were made for each other.

Lydia had asked herself how come after all this time she was the only one that had realized that Stiles was Derek’s mate and vice versa. Surely Peter knew, but the bastard was having too much fun watching the dance around each other for years to say something. Not that Lydia had done much more, they WERE fun to watch. But at least she had hinted at something while talking to Stiles.

Anyway, now it wasn’t a problem anymore. If they manage to not screw up, Lydia is sure that they will realize it themselves before the trip is over. It’s just another week, she knows, and it might seem something rushed, but after years of pining by both ends, she thinks it’s time they go at it and make it official for the sake of her sanity. She just hopes that Derek won’t be his usual martyr self, not telling Stiles if he realizes first, just to give him the opportunity to back off form that kind of commitment if he wants. Like that’s even possible, Stiles is lost for the wolf just as much the wolf is lost for Stiles.

That’s the thing the pack needs to be whole and stable again.  Their Alpha claiming his mate, making all them more powerful and strong. And if the mate coincidentally is their emissary, their pack mom, their Stiles, well, so be it. Lydia will fight everyone who opposes to their bond, because she has always known that they belong to one another, they just needed a little push in the right direction and some time alone.

Derek and Stiles might want to thank Lydia, Danny and Jackson for this little ‘extremely necessary’ trip when they get back home.

 


	18. 4.3 - Dinner at the Clarke's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I think things are going to get spicy and more interesting in lots of ways in the next chapters, so I really hope you'll keep following this story even if I'm the most unorganized author with publishing XD  
> Anyway, here it's three in the morning so I'm going to bed!  
> Have a nice tuesday :)

They had a quick lunch, putting together some things they already had and ordering something from room service. They ate on the couches, lounging around after eating and organizing with Jackson and Danny for the car service to go to the Clarke’s house. The guys told him that the Clarke’s said that if they wanted they could stay for the night. It was a good idea, so they agreed.

The car would be picking them up at four thirty, so they went all to take a shower and get ready to go out.

Stiles after getting ready checked his phone for messages from Scott and his dad. His dad had texted him back telling him that today he had to work a double shift, so he had no time for a call but he was free the day after. Scott, on the other hand, had texted him that he was awake and free at the moment, and Stiles asked himself what Scott was doing up so early in the morning, but decided to call him anyway.

He sat on the couch getting comfortable and Scott picked up after a few rings.

“Hey Scotty, how is it going in good ol’ Beacon Hills?” Stiles asked, cheerily.

“Hi buddy! Nothing much,” Scott happy voice answered back, “what about there? Everything’s fine?”

“Yeah buddy, more than fine I’d say,”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, even better than what I thought,” Stiles said with a small smile, “This week has been pretty eventful,”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you know the hopeless crush I have on one broody but very handsome alpha?”

“Even the walls know about it, Stiles,”

“Apparently it’s not that hopeless,”

“Really?” Scott asked excitedly, and Stiles was so happy to hear no judgement in his voice. “Tell me everything!”

“Oh, you know, there’s not much to say. We went dancing the other day and I was chatting with some guys on the dance floor and Derek came up to us, all growly and, I dare say, jealous and nothing, we danced for a while and then we kissed.”

“Finally!”

“Ehi!” Stiles said, but laughed nonetheless at Scott exclamation, “It was so hot, damn. The way he kisses Scott, you have no idea. And he is so fit, all hard and soft and god, we were grinding against each other more than dancing and all I wanted was to take him back here and blo-”

“STILES!” Scott said, hurriedly, “TMI, dude. TMI.”

“Sorry, buddy, I got carried away,” Stiles chuckled, “Anyway, we talked and apparently we are giving this a go. And we made out some more, so all good to me.”

“I’m really happy for you Stiles, and for Derek too.” Scott told him, “But if he hurts you, I’m going to kick his ass, even if he is the Alpha. And the same goes to you. You are both my friends, so try not to screw this up, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” Stiles said, honestly, “I want it to work so bad, Scott. It’s all I wanted for years.”

“I know,” Scott’s voice was understanding, “but I’m sure that everything is going to be fine for the two of you. I have the feeling that you aren’t the only one who was waiting for this, even though maybe you have been the first to admit it to yourself.”

“I hope so. I don’t care if he just realized that he wants me, the important thing is that he has,”

“That’s talking!”

“Just, don’t tell to anyone for now, okay?” he pleaded, and at Scott affirmative grunt, he continued “So, enough about me. Really, how are things there? Everyone is fine?”

“Yes, everyone is fine. Your dad is eating healthy, my mom and Chris look like two teenagers in love and that’s a little bit sickening, the guys are all right. We are training daily, and keeping an eye on the Nemeton as best as we can, we do rounds around the preserve every morning and evening,” and that explained to Stiles why Scott was up so early.

“Anything strange with it?”

“I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not exactly strange, it’s just…” Scott exhaled, “It’s like is pulsing with energy, like it’s preparing for something, but it doesn’t feel like something bad, you know?”

“Mh, okay,” Stiles answered, “I don’t feel anything disturbing, and with Derek practically telling me that I’m officially the emissary, I would have felt something, even without having done the ‘official’ ceremony. He would’ve felt it too, with his family connection to the land,”

“If anything happens I’ll let you know right away, don’t worry. Enjoy the holiday and don’t think about what’s happening here, we’ve got it under control,”

“I’ll try,”

“Tell the same to Derek, no need to worry. I’ll keep you updated as much as I can without bothering your time with him,”

“Fine,” Stiles said, checking the time when Lydia and Jordan joined him on the couch, “I have to go now Scotty, we are going at the other Pack’s house!”

“All right then,” Scott told him, “Say hi to everyone for me! We’ll catch up later!”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye buddy!” Scott said cheerily, hanging up.

Stiles locked his phone and pushed it back in his pocket, going to check on Derek. It was almost four and just him, Lydia and Jordan were in the common area.

He found him putting on his shoes, dressed in a simple black tee and dark worn jeans. He was on the small couch at the feet of the bed and Stiles joined him there, sitting on the armrest next to Derek.

“Ready?” he asked, carding his fingers in Derek’s hair. It was soft under his skin, and he relished in the sensation.

“Yeah, almost,” Derek smiled up at him, leaning on his touch “You called Scott?”

“Yes, he says hi,” Stiles said, keeping his hand in Derek’s hair and scratching lightly at his scalp, “I…umh…told him what’s happening between us, I didn’t want to lie to him or not tell…”

Stiles was a bit nervous about telling this to Derek, because even if they hadn’t said anything about not telling the others, Stiles wasn’t sure if Derek wanted the other Alpha to know right away. Everything was so new, and he was afraid to ruin it with the smallest of actions.

Fortunately for him, Derek didn’t retract from his touch, he leaned in more instead.

“What did he say?” he asked, “No wait, what you said to him?”

“Nothing much, just that finally my infinitely long and immense crush was probably reciprocated?” he answered, feeling his cheeks burn.

“It is definitely,” Derek said, and grabbed Stiles’ other hand, kissing his knuckles softly. Stiles felt his cheeks burn even hotter. “And…he said?” Derek asked again.

“Oh, he was happy; you know…he even said that he will kick our asses if we hurt each other. Cause we are both his friends and so on, then we talked about the others and how things are going there, you know how Scott is,” Stiles babbled on.

“Yeah, I know,” Derek chuckled, “Everything is fine there, right? Last time we texted he said that they were patrolling the area around the Nemeton. Any news about that?”

“Scott said that it seems fine, just a strange energy around it, not in a bad way though. I would’ve felt it if something bad was happening, as well as you could’ve. They are just being careful while half of the pack is not there, I suppose.”

“Mh, you’re right. I’ve felt something strange this days, but it’s not a bad sensation, and my wolf knows it’s something related to the land.”

“Are you sure it’s not about something else that happened these days?” Stiles asked sheepishly.

“No Stiles, this thing with us is…something I wanted for so long that probably I’m just afraid I’m going to screw this up royally, but…” Derek said, not looking Stiles in the eye, the tips of his ears reddening, “My wolf, he is…fine, with this, I mean, he likes you being so close to me and all that, ”.

“I want to be close to you, and to him. You are the same person for me, two halves of someone really perfect…for me,” Stiles said, leaning down and tilting Derek’s chin up to kiss him.

They were kissing softly, just small brushes of lips. Slow, soft brushes filled with a meaning that at them moment was something too much for Stiles to grasp. He just kept kissing Derek this way, not pushing for something else, just savouring the press of Derek’s lips on his own.

Someone knocked at their door and Derek kissed him one more time as they got up, his arm circling Stiles’ waist. He leaned on him, resting his hands on his chest.

“Let’s go,” Stiles whispered on his lips, smacking him playfully on the ass. He laced their fingers and they headed out of the room to find everyone waiting for them.

“Scott says hi!” he said to everyone with a big grin, getting hums and nods in response, “We ready to go?”

“The car is waiting outside, so yeah. Let’s go,” Peter says, already heading for the elevator.

***

The car was more like a minivan, and even being big it was a tight fit anyway, with the bags and all of them. Stiles spent most of the way to the Clarke’s house half seated on Derek’s lap. He took advantage of his position to steal a few kisses from him, not caring about Peter who kept rolling his eyes at them nor Lydia and Allison cooing at them. Jordan had a light smile on his face the whole time, but nothing more than that.

It took almost an hour to arrive to the reserve. The place was called [Leg ‘o Mutton](http://www.thameswilderness.org.uk/leg-omutton-lonsdale-road-local-nature-reserve/), situated along Lonsdale Road on the south bank, between the Barnes Bridge and the Hammersmith one.

Mostly of [its territory](https://www.google.it/maps/place/Leg+of+Mutton+Nature+Reserve/@51.483099,-0.2503148,1095m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x48760e5a84ef064f:0xc704bc7ba0538c0e) was occupied by a lake, surrounded by trees. On one side a big house stood with a nice garden, the perimeter of it delineated by the same trees that surrounded the lake, giving the sensation of a privacy and nature that in a city so big was hard to get. There was a car path leading to the front of the house, were Danae and a few of her betas were waiting for them. They greeted them, helped unload their things, and paid for the driver, even if Derek insisted to at least split the cost, but Danae was unmovable about it and paid everything.

Stiles noticed that Derek was a little tense around the new wolves, but not as much as he thought. He rested a hand on his bicep, smiling at him, and Derek laced their fingers with a smile of his own. They walked to Danae that was instructing her betas to take their things inside the house.

“Welcome Alpha Hale, Emissary,” she said as soon as they were in front of her. Stiles was a little surprise by the formality, but understood that they had to be formal for the first introductions between their packs. Especially in a foreign territory, it was necessary that the Alpha of the territory showed respect to the one who visited, that was the way to start a strong alliance. If the Alphas didn’t respect each other, their betas won’t respect the other’s pack Alpha. That’s why Danae was being so formal with them right now, recognizing Derek as her equal and Stiles as his second.

“Thanks for having us, Alpha Clarke,” Derek responded and Stiles bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. He wasn’t supposed to talk at the moment, he remembered reading something with Deaton about formal pack meetings.

“You and your pack can come in, so my pack can meet you all,” she said with a gentle smile. Derek nodded smiling back at her and Danae guided them inside.

The house was beautiful, mostly built in wood, with walls painted in warm colours and a mix of modern furniture and, Stiles guessed, handmade pieces. There were photos in every wall that wasn’t covered in bookshelves, and he could see smiles in all of them, see the story of the pack and his evolution in the years.

Danae stopped in a big living room, all of her betas waiting there for them with Jon and Remus. Danny and Jackson were there too, and as they moved to join Derek, Stiles smiled at them, and Danae introduced tem.

“Everyone, this is Alpha Derek Hale,” she said indicating Derek, “And he is the Emissary of the Hale pack, Stiles,” Stiles nodded at everyone, “As you already know,” she continued turning towards Derek and Stiles, “they are my mate and my emissary,” she said to them, gesturing towards Jon and Remus.

Jon and Remus nodded their heads at them, smiling as the rest of the pack watched their interaction.

“Now that the official part of this is over,” she said, “I think it’s time to let our packs bond, what do you guys think?”

There was a chorus of consent and smiles all around, but nobody moved from their spots.

“Oh my,” Jackson said, interrupting the silence, “This is our pack, I know they look kinda lame, but you know, you get what you get. Also, they don’t bite,” he smirked at Derek and the Alpha rolled his eyes at him, showing his fangs, but smirked nonetheless. The others laughed at that, and after that, they got to know everyone was.

The Clarke’s pack was big, so it took a while to talk to everybody and Stiles was sure that at the end of the day, he probably wouldn’t remember half of the names, but he will ask again, so there’s no problem for him. He hopes to have some time left to talk to Remus, he wants to know something about this mate affair, and he is still waiting for the stories that the man promised to tell him.

***

When it was getting dark, they all moved outside to start grilling the meat and set the tables for dinner. Stiles was talking with one beta of the Clarke’s pack, James. He was a few years younger than Stiles, with wavy brown hair and light blue eyes. He and Stiles had hit it off right away, talking about comics, movies and books. They were still talking theories about Game of Thrones as they helped the other set the table, and Stiles noticed that as the time passed the guy hinted closed to him, touching him casually now and then and subtly flirting with him. At least the guy thought he was being subtle. Stiles didn’t flirt back, but he was enjoying chatting with him, so he didn’t tell anything. If he crossed the boundaries, Stiles will make him understand.

Dinner wasn’t ready yet, so they sat near the trees, where a group of the betas from both packs was already chatting.

Stiles sat down near Lydia and Allison, which were talking with a couple of twins, a boy and a girl. They probably were around fifteen years old, and the girl was asking Allison something about archery while the boy was talking with Lydia and braiding her hair. Stiles eyebrows arched up at that, because it was rare for Lydia to let people touch her strawberry curls.

James sat next to him, his hand almost brushing Stiles’ one, but Stiles moved it away with a sharp smile. He noticed Lydia watching them and she smirked at him, but said nothing. They started talking again and Stiles thought that the boy had got the message.

“Dinner’s ready!” someone yelled, so they all got up. James offered Stiles a hand and he accepted it to get up, but when James pulled, Stiles ended up falling on him. James’ arm went around his waist and he grinned at Stiles, but Stiles didn’t smile back. James didn’t let him go, so Stiles pushed his chest with both his hands to make him understand. He apparently didn’t, because his arm wrapped tighter around him. Stiles didn’t want to harm him using his magic, so he thought about talking some sense into him.

“Listen, du-,” Stiles begun, but he was interrupted by a low growl. He turned his head around as much as he could, and saw Derek behind them. His eyes were red, his claws elongated and fangs exposed threateningly he had shifted into his beta form. There was a constant rumble coming from him, and Stiles shivered at the sight.

“Let him go,” Derek almost growled.

“Why should I?” the beta challenged, his eyes flashing yellow at Derek, “We are getting along and he isn’t claimed.”

“Let. Him. Go.” Now Derek was growling and he took one step forward. No one around them moved, but Stiles could see that Danae was ready to react if was needed.

“I could do it, I bet he wants it.” Stiles was affronted by the smugness of this guy. Who do he thought he was?

“I dare you. I’ll rip your throat before you can even try it,” Derek snarled, “He isn’t claimed, but if you really are a wolf as you say you are, using your nose you’ll know that he is mine.”

“Yours?” James snorted at Derek words, and Stiles was ready to kick his ass.

“Yes, mine,” he growled, stepping even closer, “He is my mate. Now, let him go, before I make you.”

“James.” Danae warned, but not with her Alpha voice, so he didn’t listen and now Stiles, even though the surprise of Derek’s words, was fed up with it.

“James,” he said with a sweet voice, leaning on him. He glanced at Derek and hoped he understood.

“See? I think he chose,” said the smug bastard smirking at Derek, “What is it, Stiles?”

“I think,” he said, dragging his fingers from Jack’s chest to his neck, “That this,” he dragged them back down, “Will hurt.”

As he finished talking his hands flared up with electricity, right in the middle of the beta’s chest, sending him flying from him with a loud yell, landing on his ass.

“What the fuck?” James groaned from the ground.

“Listen dude,” Stiles said, “You don’t decide you want me and just take me. Claimed or not, I’m not a thing. If you do as suggested, and use your nose, maybe you’d know that I’m his even without claiming,” Stiles blushed at his own words, because even if he didn’t know much about mates and all, he knew a thing or two about the wolves possessiveness and saying something like that now would reassure Derek’s wolf. “And anyway, try it again and I won’t just shock you with electricity.”

He felt Derek move closer to him, and his hand rest at the small of his back. He leaned in the touch, glancing at him to see that he was now back to his human form, so he smiled briefly at him. James was about to say something else, but he stopped as he felt a low growl from his other side.

“I think that enough,” Danae said with a stern voice, her eyes red, “Come with me James.”

With that, she turned around and headed to the forest, sure that her beta would follow her, and he did with his head hung low. Remus went right after them. Stiles leaned more on Derek, and as their side aligned, he felt Derek’s hand wrap around his hip and a pleased rumble came from the wolf’s chest.

“Come on, let’s eat before everything goes cold,” Jon said, clapping his hands and smiling slightly. He looked unhappy, but he tried anyway to brush it off and they all did the same, taking a seat around the table.

They were passing around food and filling their plates when Danae, Remus and James came back. The latter seemed a little unsure on his feet, and Stiles supposed that the effects of his electricity hit were still lingering. Plus, Danae must have talked to him and he didn’t look all that smug anymore. Stiles smiled to himself, and as the other Alpha was seated, they started to eat.

The dinner was a little bit tense at the beginning, but after a few teasing remarks between Jackson, Stiles and two other betas from the Clarke’s pack, the atmosphere relaxed and Stiles ate with gusto, snapping a photo of his plate full of meat, mashed potatoes and sauce, sending it to his the pack’s group chat.

Now that they had finished eating, they were all gathered around a big fire, lazing around with full bellies and talking about nothing and everything. Stiles had noticed that Derek hadn’t stopped touching him since before dinner and he was extremely pleased by that. Throughout the whole dinner, Derek had kept their ankles entwined and now he had his arm wrapped around Stiles’ waist.

Now, though, Stiles needed to be left alone for a while, so he could go to Remus and talk to him. The man had told him lots of stories about the Clarke’s pack during dinner, so Stiles now had a clearer vision about different pack dynamics, lots of information that would be useful in the next years, especially in his position as emissary.

The only thing that Stiles wanted to know now was information about mates and, more specifically, an Alpha’s mate. But he couldn’t ask that with Derek around, so he hoped to have time to talk to the man alone before they had to go back. He tried to convey to the man the fact that he wanted to talk to him, and apparently, he understood because after a few moments he made a proposition that would have allowed them to talk without wolves’ ears around.

“Danae,” the man spoke, “why don’t you show the Alpha Hale and his pack the reserve? I think that you could all enjoy a quick run through the woods,”

“It’s a good idea,” Danae said smiling, “Derek what do you think?”

Derek looked at Stiles, nuzzling his temple and humming. “I think it’s a good idea,” Stiles whispered to him, “To let off some steam. Maybe we could walk behind you all; Remus could show us the place while you run.”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Derek said, both to Stiles and to Danae. “Lead the way,” he said smiling, his teeth elongating slightly in anticipation. His wolf was ready for a run.

Danae chuckled and got up, Derek right after her with all the other wolves. They shifted and started running in the woods before Stiles even had the chance to blink his eyes.

“So Stiles, shall we go?” Remus said to him, standing up as well. “I think you have something to ask me,” he smiled at Stiles, and he blushed smiling back. Remus chuckled and asked if anyone else wanted to join them, but the girls and Parrish decided to stay back and keep chatting with the other humans of the Clarke’s pack, leaving the emissaries to talk alone.

They headed to the path that circled the lake, walking right in the middle of the trees. Stiles could hear the wolves howling, yipping happily, as they ran around the forest, splashing around in the water. The air around him smelled of fresh earth, leaves and nature, and Stiles’ emissary and spark nature found it appealing. There was a cool breeze now that they were in the middle of the trees and not near the fire anymore, but Stiles had one of his flannels shirts on, so he was fine, enjoying the light breeze on his skin.

***

“Tell me Stiles, what do you want to know that your Alpha can’t hear you asking me?” Remus asked after a while that they were walking and talking about nonsense.

“Yeah, it’s not like he can’t hear about it,” Stiles said sheepishly, “I just think that I’m supposed to know this kind of things, being the emissary and whatnot, especially now, because you see, me and Derek…I think you noticed earlier that our relationship…” he gesticulated wildly, embarrassed. “Well, it isn’t any more just the one of and Alpha and his emissary, or well, of just friends…”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Remus chuckled, “I guess, since he said you are his mate, you want to know more about it, right?”

“I…yes. It was a surprise, we figured out things a few days ago, it’s all so new. Well, sort of.”

“Explain to me,” Remus said, “If I can understand better your relationship, maybe I’ll know a better way to explain everything. And what I should leave to him to tell you,”

“Okay, well,” Stiles said, thinking about what to say, “We have known each other from almost six, maybe seven years now, I’m not sure anymore. At the beginning we weren’t exactly friends, but after a few up and downs we began to talk more. We faced a lot of things,” he said with a sad sigh.

“Tell me the whole story, Stiles, we have time,” Remus said gently and Stiles did. He talked and talked, about anything that happened to them, starting with Scott being turned and from there, he talked about Kate, the Kanima, the Argents, the Alpha pack, the Nemeton, even the Nogitsune. As he told him about the way Allison almost died because of him, they were sitting near the lake and Stiles had to brush away a stray tear.

Remus listened quietly to Stiles’ story, and he finished telling it, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders, a weight he didn’t even knew he had. After speaking of the past that had brought his pack together, Stiles told him about the present, about this trip they were on and what happened between him and Derek in the past few days. He even told him about the call with his father, his reaction at knowing he was rooming with Derek, what he said of them possibly dating. He also told him that he didn’t care about that, he knew his father would come around at a certain point. He wasn’t sure when, but he would.

He finished his story telling him about Scott’s reaction and how probably he was dying to tell everyone, but he couldn’t because Stiles had asked him not to.

“You really went through a lot. It has made your pack a strong one, and it’ll become stronger in the future,” Remus commented, “Especially with the actual situation between you and the Alpha.”

“Tell me what you can about it,” Stiles said, “I’ll understand if you can’t tell me everything because you think it’s better if he tells me and maybe neither me nor him are ready to know everything right now, but something is better than nothing, right?”

“Yes, Stiles,” Remus chuckled at him, shaking his head, “Let’s walk again and I’ll tell you what I can.”


	19. 4.4 - So, mates, uh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuhh another chapter! What is this miracle? Two in a week? Wow!  
> Anyway, hope you all like this too :)

“So that’s it? That’s all I need to know?” Stiles asked at the man in front of him.

“Yes, that’s all I can tell you about it,” Remus answered, smiling kindly.

“Oh…”

Silence surrounded them, interrupted just by distant howls, and Stiles took his time to think about what the man had told him.

Remus had explained that since the first werewolves appeared, they always had a mate. At the beginnings was always other werewolves, but as soon as the urge to expand the pack grew, they started biting willing people and in became more usual that a mate could be human, or another supernatural creature. Alpha had a stronger urge to find their mate and claim him, because their closeness helped them stabilize themselves, made the pack more united. Sometimes the mate could become the anchor of the Alpha, and even more rarely, it could become partly the anchor of the betas too. In some cases, even if they hadn’t mated, or one or both of the parties were unaware of the bond they shared, the bond could become strong enough that the wolf recognized the mate as his anchor anyway.

Remus had told him that he had heard that in some cases, when one of the two in a couple died, the other, especially if it was the Alpha that had remained alive, could go rogue or die too. That scared him, because he didn’t wanted something like that to happen to Derek. At the same time, he realized that he couldn’t know how he would’ve reacted to Derek’s death, especially if their relationship developed even more.

But it wasn’t an option to not be Derek’s mate, because as him and his wolf had chosen Stiles, Stiles and his magic had chosen him. When Remus had explained to him what would feel like to find your mate, Stiles had recognized the feelings as some of his own towards Derek. Apparently, werewolves weren’t the only one that needed a mate.

Remus had explained to him that probably that was because Stiles would have been a good candidate for turning into a werewolf, and that maybe he had some werewolf gene in his system, because it was rare for a human mate to feel so strongly the bond when it wasn’t officialised. Even if it was a spark like Stiles. The spark nature incremented the feelings, making him more aware probably, but Stiles considered that just as a plus. He now knew that after the mating ceremony, if it was two werewolves, they shared some kind of mental connection, added to the emotional bond already present. They would be equally strong and could feel each other emotions, but the mate wouldn’t become Alpha, just automatically become his second. With humans, it was more of a subconscious connection, a fleeting feeling of emotions of their mate’s wellbeing. But in the case of Stiles, it could be something in the middle, or something even more, it all depended on his magic.

And by that fact that Derek had to claim him. Stiles, even if he didn’t expect their relationship to go this way, was completely and totally on board with it. He had wanted Derek from the first time he had seen him, and that wasn’t the day in the woods. He remembered clearly seeing Derek at the Sheriff station the day of the fire. He and Laura were so young. Their faces swollen and streaked with traces of tears.

Stiles remembered the feeling of protectiveness for the, at the time, beta. He wanted to comfort him, to hug him and make him feel better, even if he knew first-hand how bad it was to lose a member of your family, and that nothing people could say would fill that void. Now that he knew that Derek was a werewolf, he understood how bad must have been for him, losing his pack, not just his family.

He felt something tugging at his heart, just thinking about how Derek had felt at the time. And when he had lost Laura, in must have been the same pain all over again, made even more bitter by the fact that Peter was the one who did it and he had to kill him. Fortunately, thins went a little better after that, and now Peter wasn’t that much of a dick. He still was one, of course, just slightly less.

This mate thing, though, had cleared all the questions Stiles had about the feelings he had towards Derek the first time he had seen him.

Anyway, Stiles realized that he and Derek had to talk about this. Derek had to give him the final pieces of what would mean to be the Alpha’s mate, especially because he was already the pack’s emissary. Remus had assured him that that wouldn’t be a problem to his role, but that he and Derek had to talk about it anyway. Most of all, Derek had to explain to him why he hadn’t ever told the pack about mates, and to him that he was his mate.

He wondered if Derek, scared by his previous relationship, was unconsciously denying to himself the knowledge of Stiles being his mate. Maybe his wolf knew, but Derek was probably ignoring him about this, and that surely wasn’t something good for his stability.

Probably that idiot had thought that Stiles wouldn’t want nothing to do with him, if he knew. He couldn’t be more wrong. Stiles was gonna make him understand that he hadn’t any problem with being his mate.

He sighed and turned to Remus. They had kept walking as Stiles thought about all they had talked about, and now they were on the other side of the lake and Stiles let his eyes wander to the scenery around him.

Even if was night, and the reserve was in the middle of the city, he could see clearly enough thanks to the almost full moon that was high above them. The trees delineated a dark, quiet path around the lake, but Stiles found it relaxing more than scary.

“I think we should head back to the others,” Remus said out of nowhere, “I think the nightly run is almost over, and I don’t want your Alpha to think I stole you,” he added jokingly.

“Yeah,” Stiles chuckled, “Let’s go.”

***

When they got out of the trees, they found the others around the fire just like they had left them. They were all chatting, laughing about something, and Stiles felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips at the sight. He liked the Clarke’s pack and he was happy that they were all getting along. Well, leaving the James affair aside.

The wolves weren’t back yet, but he thought that probably it wouldn’t be long before they came back. He and Remus sat back in the middle of the circle, Stiles sitting next to Lydia and bumping her shoulder questioningly, wanting to know if everything was fine. She bumped him back, smiling, and Stiles knew all was good.

He listened to their conversations, interjecting now and then, but mostly he enjoyed the sound of voices surrounding him. He was so lost in his own head that he didn’t notice the wolves coming back, and he almost jumped when a cold muzzle touched his cheek.

“Hey!” he said, his hand going to his heart, “No sneaking up on me!”

The wolf barked happily, tail waggling as he sat around Stiles back, his head resting on his thigh.

“I gather you had a nice run,” Stiles murmured carding his fingers in Derek’s fur, eliciting a content rumble from the animal. His fur was so soft that Stiles found himself turning slightly to the side and burying his hands in it, massaging the vast back of the wolf. Derek seemed to like it because he relaxed completely under Stiles’ touch, his head now resting on the side on both Stiles’ thigh and stomach.

“You really are a cuddlywolf,” he chuckled and the wolf grumbled, and Stiles knew that if Derek were in his human form now, he would’ve rolled his eyes at Stiles. That made Stiles laugh more.

“I talked with Remus earlier,” he said, now more serious, “He explained a few things to me and I think we need to talk,”

The wolf at that tensed again, but Stiles brushed his back again trying to make him relax again.

“Ehi, it’s not something bad. But Remus couldn’t tell me everything, so I need to know the rest from you,” he continued, and breathed heavily, “I really want to know, Derek. I’m not going anywhere.”

The wolf yelped softly at Stiles’ words, but he tried to get even closer to his body. Stiles was happy that right now Derek wasn’t in his human form, because he knew that it would’ve been more difficult for him to say it otherwise.

“I… Derek when we kissed the other day, this surely wasn’t what I was expecting. But damn, Derek, if you want it…” he paused, waiting for a reaction from the wolf, “if you want me,” he continued, “I’m more than willing to do this. To be ‘it’ for you.”

The wolf at that raised his head to look at him in the eyes, and Stiles knew he was looking for lies, because he hadn’t heard any, but for Derek was hard trusting completely his senses, especially regarding feelings. He looked back at him, trying to convey all the sincerity of his words to the wolf.

“You already are for me, Derek…” he whispered, placing a hand on the wolf’s neck and getting closer to his ear, so that only him could hear, “You have been for so long, and I didn’t even knew it…”

The wolf brushed the side of his head on Stiles’ cheek, like he was trying to reassure him, then he stood on all four and yanked Stiles’ sleeve lightly. Stiles stood up as well, not knowing what Derek wanted, but willing to follow him and discover it.

Derek looked at Danae. She too was in her wolf form, unlike Jon that was already back to his human one and was stroking her back. Jon nudged her mate and she looked up at Derek, nodding with what could’ve only been a wolfish smile. Derek nodded back and headed for the house, Stiles following right behind.

He stayed in his wolf form even when they entered the house, going upstairs to where the rooms probably were. Stiles didn’t knew where they were supposed to stay, but apparently Derek did because he went straight for a door, sitting in front of it and waiting for Stiles to open it.

As soon as the door was open, Derek padded inside, jumping on the big double bed in the middle of it. Stiles looked around as he went to sit with Derek. The room wasn’t too big, but Stiles liked it. The colours where all light, and all the furniture was made in wood. It gave a sense of peace that he really appreciated.

Derek still hadn’t changed back in his human form, and Stiles was starting to wonder why. He turned to face the wolf, who was sitting on his hunches in the middle of the bed. Stiles got closer, his hand going automatically to brush behind Derek’s ears. He looked him in the eyes and placed a gentle kiss on his muzzle.

Apparently, that was all it took for Derek to change back, like a frog turning into a prince from a kiss given by his loved one. Stiles now found himself on his back on the mattress, kissed by a very human Derek. A very human and very naked Derek that was caging Stiles body between his body and the bed.

Stiles kissed him with equal fervour, one of his hands grasping Derek’s hair and the other curled around his neck. He could feel Derek’s body heat, the firmness of his muscles pushing against his own in all the right places. Derek was kissing him like he was the best thing in the world and Stiles revelled in the sensation.

Stiles felt Derek’s hands trace a path from his shoulders to his hips, his fingers tightening Derek, and he realized that Derek was hard. Well, Stiles was on his way there too, not too far from Derek, to tell the truth. The wolf’s mouth travelled from Stiles’ lips to his neck, leaving soft kisses in his wake, and as he reached the juncture of his neck, right under his left ear, Derek bit him with blunt human teeth.

Stiles arched at that, a quiet moan escaping his lips. The moan became more vocal as Derek ground his crotch against Stiles’, his teeth still worrying the skin of his neck.

He didn’t want to waste this opportunity, so he let his hand travel on Derek’s skin, mapping his body with his fingers as far as he could reach without disturbing Derek’s thorough work on him. The wolf had other ideas though, because he detached himself from Stiles, who absolutely did not whined in despair at that, and started tugging on his clothes.

Stiles got out of his plaid shirt and Derek was already lifting up his t-shirt, kissing the skin as he exposed it and Stile lifted his arms to get it out of the way. The first touch of skin on skin sent a shiver down Stiles’ spine, and he arched up on Derek to be pressed more against him, to feel him more.

The wolf was trailing his hands up and down Stiles torso and his mouth latched on one of Stiles’ nipples as one blunt fingernails caught on the other, eliciting a strangled moan from him. Derek’s chest rumbled with a growl as Stiles squirmed under his attentions.

“Derek,” Stiles said, one hand reaching again to Derek’s air, “Pants…” he breathed out, “Get them off of me, please,”

Derek was more than happy to comply with the request, and almost ripped Stiles’ pants form him, taking off his underwear at the same time. He started kissing the newly uncovered skin like he had done with Stiles torso, starting from his ankles and going up through his calves, his thighs and his hips, clearly avoiding the place where Stiles needed his touch the most.

Derek was nipping at his hip bones teasingly and Stiles wanted to taste too, wanted to put his mouth on him, so he dragged Derek back up to him, kissing him hard and filling them over. He knew Derek had let him, because otherwise there was no way he could’ve moved the wolf so easily.

He started tracing the same path Derek had, kissing, biting and liking all the skin he found on his way down the wolf’s body. Derek was making beautiful noises under his touch and Stiles never wanted to stop, he wanted to wreck Derek, wanted to make him melt below him.

He knew that they had said to wait, but now he needed more. More than just hands and grinding against each other, he needed to taste Derek, to feel the weight of his arousal on his tongue, see him reach his peak thanks to Stiles’ mouth and that only.

But before, he wanted to tease Derek a little more, so he went down, settling in between his legs. He put his hands on his calves and started massaging them, as he dragged his lips down, from Derek’s hipbones to his thighs and started nipping and kissing him there, leaving marks just to see them disappear right away.

Derek was trying to lay still and let Stiles do what he wanted, but now and then Stiles could feel his hips twitching, especially when he bit in a particularly sensitive spot or when he had experimentally liked behind Derek’s knee. He was now sucking a bruise in the juncture between his thigh and groin.

“Stiles…” Derek’s moan resembled a plea, and Stiles decided to be merciful. Just for this time.

He moved from his spot, leaving there a last kiss, and nuzzled Derek’s balls. He then licked a stripe from there to the tip of his cock, and Derek arched, trying to chase the sensation, looking for more friction. Stiles kissed the tip, gathering the first drops of pre-come on his lips and tasting them. He moaned at the taste, impatient to have more. It was what he had always imagined Derek would be like, strong and sweet, with just a hint of bitter at the end.

He looked up at Derek, placing his hands on his hips, and he saw Derek looking back at him. Stiles was stunned by the vision. Derek’s face was flushed, his pupils dilated and his breath laboured, and that was all because of Stiles. He felt a rush of pride wash through him, and he wanted to give Derek all he could.

Stiles winked at him, and Derek drew a sharp breath as he lowered his head and engulfed the tip of Derek’s cock with his lips, sucking lightly. He took more of it in his mouth, one of his hands helping him cover the length of it as he started bobbing up and down, teasing the slit with quick licks and the base with a calculated flick of his wrist at each upstroke. Derek relaxed under him, his hips twitching to stay still and his hand a warm weight on Stiles’ head.

Stiles wanted to reward the fact that Derek wasn’t pushing him down with his hand, nor pulling at his hair to control his movements, but just carding his fingers through his hair like that could keep him grounded enough to not lose his control and fuck into Stiles’ mouth.

Stiles wouldn’t have minded, but he was glad he had time to adjust at the size of Derek, because boy, it wasn’t small at all. He hadn’t gone all the way with anyone yet. Not because he was a prude or because the occasion hadn’t presented itself, but just because he hadn’t found anyone with who he felt right to do it. But blowjobs were in his area of expertise now. And he wanted to give Derek the best he ever had.

So, to reward Derek’s perfect behaviour, Stiles relaxed his throat and swallowed him whole. Derek moaned brokenly at that, like the sound was being ripped from him without his consent and his hips pushed up into the tight heat of Stiles’ mouth. Stiles smiled around him, pleased. Or well, he tried to as much as he could with his mouth stretched by Derek’s length.

He bobbed his head, going all the way down now and then, teasing Derek with strong sucks, quick licks at his slit and long slow presses at the vein on the underside of his cock. He moved his hands to grasp Derek’s buttcheeks firmly, and incited him to move.

Derek’s hand tightened lightly and Stiles looked up at him. Derek’s eyebrows were arched in question, and Stiles moaned his consent around Derek’s tip, his eyes closing and opening in a slow motion as he pushed on Derek’s butt and his cock slid more into his mouth, letting Derek know that that was what Stiles wanted.

Derek released a shaky breath, and the first roll of his hips was slow and tentative, like he was making sure that it was okay. Stiles moaned more at the further intrusion, the vibrations spurring on Derek’s arousal, making his thrusts more firm, more profound.

Stiles lost himself in his own pleasure, feeling the throb of his own cock as he sucked on Derek.

The wolf was now using Stiles’ mouth for his own pleasure, but Stiles knew that he hadn’t let go completely. For this time though, Stiles accepted the fact that Derek had come so far with him, with all they had to talk about still.

He put all his efforts to make Derek come, sucking harder, swallowing every time the head caught in his throat. He gagged a few times, but that just spurred him on to continue and finish Derek. He could tell he was close from how the thrusts of his hips became more erratic, his moans longer and his breath quicker. He could feel it pulse on his tongue.

He felt Derek tug sharply at his hair and he came up, sucking as he went. His lips tight, giving Derek the right pressure as he was chasing his orgasm. Stiles flicked the slit with his tongue as his lips were wrapped tightly on the crown, and Derek spilled all over his tongue, with a half-hearted thrust and a mix between a moan and a sob. Derek curled around Stiles’ head as he licked him clean, and he put a hand under Stiles’ jaw to bring him up and kiss him deeply, tasting himself in Stiles’ mouth.

Stiles moaned inside Derek’s mouth and Derek pulled until Stiles was straddling him, and then started to suck bruises on his neck, biting kisses following on the bruised skin. His hand wrapped around Stiles’ cock and he realized how close he was to his own orgasm. If Derek kept it like that, he would come in a few strokes.

Derek did more than that. He tightened his grip on Stiles at every upstroke, teasing his slit with brushes of his thumb every so often. His other hand was firmly palming Stiles’ ass, and he rolled his hips chasing both hands. Derek slapped his ass sharply at that, his teeth biting a particularly big bruise on the dip of his collarbone, and Stiles came, painting Derek’s stomach and hand in white, warm stripes.

He groaned loudly, resting his head on Derek’s shoulder, as the man moved his hand slowly on him to bring him down of his high. Stiles breathed deeply, kissing softly at the side of Derek’s neck. The man wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist, Stiles’ ones looping loosely around Derek’s shoulders as they breathed in each other.

After a few moments, Stiles moved aside the bed sheets to sleep but Derek disappeared in a small door in the room that Stiles hadn’t noticed before, and then he heard the sink water run. He took advantage of the moment to put his clothes aside and don’t leave them all around the room were Derek had thrown them before. He was piling them up on a chair, when a warm body wrapped around him from behind, hands resting softly on his stomach.

Stiles rested his own hands on Derek’s, leaning the weight of his body on Derek’s strong one behind him, enjoying the feeling of their naked bodies pliant and warm against each other, sated and ready to sleep. He had just one thing to say before going to sleep, and the words escaped his lips as Derek moved them on the bed and under the covers.

He looked straight in Derek’s eyes as he said it, unable to stop the small smirk playing at his lips.

“So,” he paused for effect, the smirk growing and his eyebrows wiggling, “mates, uh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut scenes are probably not my forte, but I'm trying anyway! Let me know what you think about it :)  
> Have a nice week :)


	20. 4.5 – Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aehm...sorry?   
> Hope you like this one too, regardless of my lateness in posting!  
> Have a nice start of week :)

Stiles woke up to warm hands traveling along his naked skin, so light and soft that he thought he was imagining them. Then a pair of lips brushed a kiss on his nape and he smiled, burrowing into Derek’s heat and moving his body to give Derek more space to touch him.

Big strong palms wrapped around his hips as Derek moved him closer to his chest, his lips ghosting over a constellation of freckles between his shoulder blades.

“Morning,” Derek grumbled, and Stiles smiled at how sleepy his voice sounded.

“Mmm…good morning,” he replied, turning around and giving Derek a peck on the lips.

The werewolf was rumpled from sleep, his hair sticking all around - just like Stiles’ surely was – his eyes squinting lightly in the soft light coming from outside and a small smile graced his lips. Stiles hadn’t ever saw him like that, and he was extremely thankful to be able to do so.

He buried his hands in Derek’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp, and eliciting a pleased grumble from the wolf. He chuckled quietly at his cuddly side, but revelled nonetheless in it. He liked sleepy cuddles. Well, he liked cuddles in any shape, form or time. And apparently, Derek did too.

They lazed in bed for a few more minutes, hands sliding on skin and soft brushes of lips. Stiles wouldn’t have minded a repeat of the night before, but he was enjoying this all the same.

“We should get up,” he whispered in Derek’s ear.

“Yeah,” he wolf agreed, still worrying the skin under his ear with soft kisses.

“I mean it,” Stiles said laughing softly at him.

“All right,” Derek said, with a last kiss on Stiles’ lips. He then rolled around and got up. Stiles’ eyes roamed hungrily around Derek’s body, following the shift of his muscles as he stretched and gathered some clean clothes.

“Shower?” Derek asked, half turning towards him, a mischievous grin on his lips, showing a hint of fangs.

Stiles scrambled out of bed, nodding and grabbing his clothes before following the laughing wolf into the bathroom. Stiles liked it immediately, it was brightly illuminated, with white fixtures and a small cream coloured cabinet under the sink.

The shower was barely big enough for them, but the water pressure was a blessing on Stiles’ muscles, and he mumbled appreciatively as his body relaxed under it. He turned around as he heard a rumble from behind, and saw Derek watching him like he could eat him. And Stiles prayed that he was going to.

Derek was on him in an instant, his arms bracketing Stiles’ head as his back his the cold tiles of the shower wall. Derek kissed him hungrily, his tongue tracing every inch of Stiles’ mouth, making him moan at the attack he was under.

Stiles, though, didn’t hold back either. His tongue engaged a fight for dominance with Derek’s, gaining and losing access to his mouth as their kiss continued. Derek’s hands slipped from his hips to his thighs, pulling one up and patting the other. Stiles got the message and wrapping his harms around Derek’s neck, he jumped and closed his legs around Derek’s waist. Their hard dicks brushed and Stiles threw his head back with a soft thump against the wall as he moaned at the barely inexistent friction.

The wolf’s grip didn’t falter with the shifting of position, and neither did his lips, that were now sucking a bruise on Stiles’ neck. He was leaving small marks all over his skin, one side and the other, scraping him with his beard and his teeth.

Stiles rolled his hips up, met by Derek’s upward thrust and by a growl that reverberated through his chest, almost as he emitted it himself. They grinded against each other, Derek’s body pressed against Stiles’ as the water poured on them, making the friction slick enough to not be painful. Their bodies rocked as they kept sharing kisses, Stiles’ hands moving continuously on all the skin he could reach, fingers tangling in Derek’s hair and tugging ever so often.

He almost whimpered when Derek let his legs go one at the time, keeping him upright with a strong grip on his hips, the pads of his fingers pressing on his skin enough to leave bruises. He gave him another bruising kiss, and Stiles could feel his lips swollen and hot as he bit into his lower lip when Derek got on his knees in front of him.

Derek didn’t waste time, wrapping his lips around his length and sucking harshly, punching a half strangled moan from him. His mouth was extremely hot on him, and his tongue was teasing all the right spot as he sucked up and down on it, swallowing him until his nose brushed against his happy trail every time. No gag reflex, then, good, was Stiles’ last coherent thought.

“Touch me more, Der…” he pleaded, incoherently.

One of Derek’s hands was now teasing his balls and slipping past them, circling his entrance with a ghost touch, making him want more and more. Derek sucked at his tip and pressed against his rim without breaching it, followed by a wet pop as Stiles’ cock came out of his mouth and his tongue swiped quickly against the slit. Stiles moaned again at the cold air on his hard dick, but he didn’t have the time to think about it because Derek’s mouth was engulfing him again and he thrust into it without control.

“Sorry, sorry…” he mumbled incoherently, his hand brushing Derek’s hair out of his face.

The wolf released his cock once again and sat on his calves, looking up at Stiles with a grin that could’ve only been described as feral. He wrapped his hand around the tip of Stiles’ cock, finger pads brushing on his slit and gathering the pre-come there. He popped them in his mouth and growled lowly as his eyes fell shut.

Stiles took a moment to burn in his brain this image of Derek, on his knees in front of him, naked. His cock jutting hard and proud between his spread thighs, hair and skin wet from the water, eyes shut as he moaned around his fingers at the taste of Stiles’.

Derek opened his eyes again and they were even more lustful than before if it was possible, and Stiles’ breath itched in his throat as he let his finger pop out of his mouth before pinning him with his burning stare.

“Don’t hold back,” he told him, his voice low and promising.

He took Stiles back in his mouth, one of his hands reaching back to lift Stiles’ leg up on his shoulder, gripping his right ass cheek. Stiles was sure that would leave marks as well, but he couldn’t care less, he was liking this possessive side of Derek as well, wanting to mark him as his, even if unconsciously. Derek’s other hand went back to his hole, fingers slick with spit, and pushed one of them lightly inside as he sucked on Stiles’ tip.

Stiles groaned loudly at the intrusion, his hips stuttering in indecision whether to thrust up into the warmth of Derek’s mouth or down to push his finger deeper inside him. Sure, Stiles hadn’t had sex all the way yet, but he knew he liked fingers filling him up. Since when he had discovered he liked both girls and boys, he hadn’t wasted time experimenting with his body, discovering many fantastic things. The fact that now was Derek’s finger inside of him, gave to the experience something incomparable.

Stiles’ next moan was dragged out of him as Derek’s finger tip brushed against his prostate, his hips bucking up into his mouth at the shock of the sudden pleasure.

Derek moaned greedily around him, doubling his efforts on his cock and pushing into him another finger. The soft burn of the stretch only added to the pleasure and before realizing it, Stiles was fucking Derek’s mouth desperately as the werewolf stretched his fingers inside him, curling them to tap and grind against his prostate. One of Stiles’ hands was gripping Derek’s hair tightly, while the other was planted on his shoulder, blunt fingers biting the skin.

Derek kept his ministrations, his hands encouraging Stiles to fuck his mouth faster, to use him to get his pleasure, as his fingers were almost a constant pressure on Stiles prostate, fucking him with quick sharp thrust. Derek swallowed around his tip with a fucked out rumble, and Stiles’ saw stars.

His eyes shut and he curled around Derek as he came with a strangled shout, shielding him from the water and burying himself into his mouth as the wolf swallowed his cum greedily and his fingers kept teasing his sweet spot. Stiles shivered at the over stimulation, a quiet whimper escaping his lips. Derek pulled his fingers out of him slowly and teasingly, dragging out the sensations of Stiles’ orgasm as much as he could, his mouth freeing his still half hard cock as slowly as his fingers were coming out of his twitching hole.

“Fuck, Der…” Stiles grumbled, spent. A chuckled escaped him as Derek moaned content, releasing his tip with a soft pop. “I’ll need a moment before I can reciprocate,”

“Oh, no need to worry,” Derek voice came from where he was peppering kisses on Stiles’ hipbones, his arms wrapped around his waist to keep him upright on his shaking legs. His voice sounded as fucked out as Stiles felt, and he groaned again thinking that he sounded like that because of him.

He registered Derek’s words a few seconds later and opened his eyes, curiously looking at him. He reached his hand to tilt his head up, demanding a kiss, but he stopped when he saw Derek’s stomach covered in cum.

“You…” he whispered, “You came untouched?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Derek answered, unashamedly, “I came when right after you did,” he told him, “the way you fucked my mouth when you came did it for me. And the way you taste, Stiles, god. I could keep going like this all day.”

Stiles closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, his cock twitching in interest at Derek’s words, but he was too spent to even think about going for a second round right away.

“I bet all of you tastes this good,” Derek added, his hands roaming on Stiles’ ass, finger ghosting softly at his cleft. His ass clenched and unclenched at the implication and his hands tugged at Derek’s hair.

“God, Der, come here. I need you to kiss me and shut up.” Derek laughed at the desperation in his voice, and Stiles knew it was because he could smell Stiles’ arousal despite his words.

They kissed lazily, the water washing away the traces of their passion.

After a few minutes of soft, sloppy kisses, they washed each other calmly, laughing between the foam and sharing smiles, quick pecks of lips on clean skin and soft, long caresses.

***

“God, I’m starving!” Stiles said as he put on his clothes after the shower.

“I’m sure there’s something ready in the kitchen,” Derek replied, “The others are already there, I heard them when I woke up,”

“What?” Stiles asked, spinning on his feet towards Derek.

“What what?”

“Are they all awake?”

“Not everyone, but a lot of them yeah,”

Stiles groaned, colour raising to his cheeks, his hands covering his face.

“If you could hear them, I bet they heard everything too, right? And the same yesterday!”

“Oh,” Derek said, smirking at him, “Yeah,”

“Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, and then noticed how pleased the smirk on Derek’s face was, “You’re enjoying this! You possessive asshole,” he told him rolling his eyes, but he went to give him a kiss anyway.

“Not my fault if you’re loud,” Derek said, nipping his bottom lip lightly.

“Like you weren’t,” Stiles snorted, “Let’s go, I’m hungry enough to endure the teasing of a bunch of werewolves!”

He grabbed Derek’s hand and led them outside their room, then letting Derek steer them towards the kitchen. The room was full, members of both packs sitting on the stools around the counter, standing around with their plates or sitting on the small puffs and couches scattered around the open space.

“Good morning,” Peter said with a grin. They all turned to them and Stiles felt himself flush, but Derek wrapped his arm around his waist and Stiles felt more at ease, leaning into the touch. He smirked back at Peter, regaining some of his cheekiness.

“Good morning indeed,” he said, and felt Derek’s chuckle reverberate on his side. Some of the others laughed lightly and some smiled knowingly. Lydia and Allison smiled at him, a glint of pride shining in their eyes.

Stiles turned his face to give Derek a peck on the cheek and walked towards them, sitting next to Lydia while Derek gathered food in one plate for them. He settled the plate in front of Stiles and next to him, and they started eating with the sound of happy chatter around them. In spite of what he had expected, the wolves didn’t tease them for their rather loud activities, but Stiles wasn’t so naïve to believe that they wouldn’t come later.

Stiles noticed that James, the beta that had challenged Derek the night before, wasn’t with them. He didn’t knew exactly how pack dynamics worked in this cases, but at the moment he didn’t want to ask. He intercepted Remus eyes, and the wolf nodded with a sad smile, mouthing later at him. Stiles knew that the man would explain to him as soon as they got a chance.

“So,” Danae said from her spot on Jon’s lap, a slow smile spreading on her lips, “I was thinking that today, maybe this evening, we could all play a game of chase,”

Some of her betas shook their heads amused, but Stiles was interested in this.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean that we hide and you chase us,” she said, “The other way round would be too simple, and in this way it’ll be more fun for everyone that wants to play.”

“I like it,” Allison said, her hunter side was surely impatient for this game. Lydia nodded beside her, and Stiles could see the plans already spinning in her head. If they could team up, Stiles knew who he wanted in his team.

“Good,” Danae said, “Later we’ll go over the rules and see who wants to participate,” she told them, “Now, if you all don’t mind, me and Alpha Hale have pack matters to discuss in private. Maybe later Stiles and Remus could join us?” she finished her sentence with a questioning look to them, and Stiles nodded, knowing that this had probably something to do with the allegiance they were going to draw up.

“Of course,” Derek said. He stood up when Danae did, leaving a kiss on Stiles’ head and murmuring ‘later’ to him, before following her upstairs, where Stiles supposed she had her office.

Stiles finished his breakfast, chatting with Lydia and Allison about this chase, while the others around them chatted and set their plates in the dishwasher or put away the leftovers. When he was over, he stood and put his plate in the dishwasher too, and Remus approached him.

“Want to go for a walk?” the man asked.

“Yes,” Stiles said, and Remus headed for a door that led to the garden. Stiles glanced back at the girls, smiling in a reassuring manner and followed the man outside.

They walked for a while, until Remus deemed it far enough from the house that the others wouldn’t know what they were saying. The emissary sat down on a rock, and gestured to Stiles to sit in front of him on another rock. Stiles sat down and waited for the man to talk, because he didn’t knew where to start.

“Being a new emissary, I suppose you know how most of the dynamics in a pack work,” he started and Stiles nodded, “But in cases like yesterday’s one, every pack follows his own rules. The Alpha sets the rules and lets his beta know when they join their pack what will happen if these situations occur,”

“And what are Alpha Clarke’s rules?” Stiles asked, almost warily. For the little he saw of Danae, he could tell she was a good Alpha, a right one, but he was nonetheless scared to what she had decided for this situation. He understood that it was something serious, because the beta had challenged the Alpha of the pack they were hosting, and more than that, he had challenged him for his mate.

“It depends on how far the situation went,” Remus answered, “Luckily for James, Derek knew he is a new beta of the Clarke’s pack, he was bitten recently, so he asked Danae not to take an extreme decision on this. Obviously, Derek knows that she has to do what she thinks it’s best for her pack, so the decision is up to her anyway. In this case, there are two options. She could choose to make James leave the pack and find another one, or she could offer him to Derek.”

“Offer him to Derek?” Stiles asked confused.

“Yes,” Remus said, “She could offer him to Derek’s wolf, more precisely. He could kill him and no one would do anything, because that’s how it works. To challenge an Alpha this way, trying to take his mate and implying their relationship isn’t that because there’s no mating bite on neither of them is one of the worst things a wolf could do to another. Especially if the challenge is from a beta to an alpha. And particularly this time because we are hosting you here, and all of us knew that your relationship with Derek is at the beginning. Danae explained to the others your situation before you came here yesterday, but apparently James didn’t get it.”

“Oh,” Stiles said in a whisper, “I don’t think Derek would kill him…There’s another solution if Danae decides to give James to Derek?”

“Of course,” Remus said, with a smile, “He can decide whatever he wants, and I’m sure that he and Danae are talking about it right now. She probably wants to scare James a little to make him understand, and she can be pretty creative, so I think we’ll have an interesting evening.”

Stiles chuckled at Remus amusement, glad that the situation wasn’t as desperate as he thought it might be.

“So where is he now?” he asked curiously.

“In his room, Danae banned him there for the morning, telling him they had to decide what would happen to him, his face was priceless when she told him,” Remus said smirking, “She loves drama,” he told him rolling his eyes.

“Are you badmouthing me, Remus?” Danae’s amused voice came from behind him, and he turned to see her approaching them, Derek in tow.

“Hi,” Derek said, sitting next to Stiles and nuzzling behind his ear.

“Hi,” he replied, leaning on Derek’s side, brushing his nose on his temple.

“You talked to him already Remus?” Danae asked sitting on another rock.

“Yes,”

“So, I and Derek planned something for this evening before the run,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, sharing a smirk with Derek.

“I didn’t doubt it for one second,” Remus replied rolling his eyes in amusement.

“Want to know what?” she asked to Stiles, her smirk turning to a full grin.

“Hell yeah,” Stiles answered, with a small grin of his own.


	21. 5.1 - Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small something for the Sunday evening :)
> 
> As always, I'm very sorry if there are any mistakes!

After talking with Danae and Remus, Derek and Stiles decided to go on a walk around the lake and see the preserve in the daily light. They walked quietly, hand in hand, enjoying the sounds of nature around them, even in a city as big as London.

“What do you think this relationship between us will entail for the pack when we go back at home?” Stiles asked him, and Derek was a little scared to answer, but he did it nonetheless.

“There won’t be any significant changes. You’ll be my second, like Scott, and our advisor, because you are also the emissary of our pack. The others will see you as my equal when we make this official with the mating bite, but nothing more than this is going to change,” he said, “probably the biggest change will be that your father is going to shoot me every time he gets the chance, I think…”

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” Stiles said, even though Derek could sense that Stiles wasn’t completely happy with what his father thought about it, and he remembered earing them talk a few days prior. But Stiles was a grown man now, so his father had to accept who he wanted to be with. At least Derek hoped he did, because he healed yes, but bullets hurt like a bitch anyway.

“I’m not exactly worried about him,” Derek answered, his hand squeezing Stiles’ softly, “I admit that probably I was the first one against this Stiles, because you are so young and I…” Derek sighed sadly, “It’s not even age the problem here, but in the end it doesn’t matter because we decided to give it a try and I couldn’t be more happy about it…”

“My father, he just worries so much about me,” Stiles exhaled frustrated, he sat on a small bench near the lake and Derek sat next to him, his arm thrown around Stiles’ shoulders as they relaxed, “After all that’s happened in these years, he can’t help it. But he’ll understand that you are important to me. He already sees you as a part of the family, like he sees the rest of the pack, he just wants to brood for a while. The funny thing is that he doesn’t know yet that we are dating,”

“You don’t know how to tell him?” Derek asked.

“No it’s not that,” Stiles gave him a reassuring smile, “It’s just that he’s always working when I try to call him, so I haven’t had the chance yet. I just hope he drops the act quickly, because I hold the red meat power, and I’m petty enough to use it,” he stated with his nose in the air. Derek laughed, but he felt a little bit better after Stiles’ words.

“If you want, we can tell him together, so he can call me names and then calm down when you threaten him with red meat deprivation,” Derek proposed with a smirk, making him laugh. “Seriously though, if you want we can call him together. This is all so new Stiles, but I couldn’t be more lucky with who my wolf choose for a mate, because you are exactly what I want…”

“Damn, you’re such a… I don’t know, but surely now I know that your grumpy self can be very sweet!” Stiles told him laughing lightly, his cheeks pink and his eyes sparkling. He straddled Derek’s hips and Derek kissed him, unable to resist the urge to claim Stiles’ lips.

They stayed there, kissing and talking about this and that, just enjoying each other’s company and discovering themselves a little more.

***

When they had gotten back from their walk, they had found everyone bustling around to set a table outside, carrying plates, cutlery, food and all the rest. The day was nicely warm and sunny, so Derek could understand why they wanted to eat outside. The smells of nature were extremely pleasant in the air, and he was enjoying them too.

Derek wasn’t surprised to see Peter typing on the phone, sitting beside a bunch of the others in the grass, what surprised him was the strange smile he had on his face. It wasn’t a smirk, just a smile, small and private, happy and yet…cautious? Derek couldn’t say, but he didn’t want to confront Peter for something that made him smile that way, so he just looked around for his other betas.

Lydia was sitting with the boy that was braiding her hair the night before, and they were reading some big book together. Derek could see the excitement in both of them for the subject they were talking about and he smiled. A few feet away, his twin sister was showing Allison her bows and Allison seemed really impressed by them, judging at how reverently she was touching the one in her hands. Or maybe she treated all her bows the same way, Derek didn’t know.

What he knew was that he was happy. He saw Parrish coming out from the kitchen back door talking animatedly with a young woman of the Clarke’s pack, laughing happily, as they walked bringing things to the table. He understood why Jackson and Danny liked this place and this pack, and he could see it in their smile where they sat in between the others where Peter was.

Yes, Derek felt happy, and as he wrapped his arm firmly around Stiles’ middle, dread slithered through his spine. He couldn’t lose this, and he hoped that nothing more would happen to them, because they all had had enough in their lives. He closed his eyes, shaking away the negative feeling and concentrating on Stiles’ presence pressing on his side, warm and alive, and his pack around him, happy and stable. The feeling went away as it had arrived, and Derek exhaled relieved.

Stiles turned to him, his brows arched in question, but Derek just shook his head minutely, and kissed his temple with a small smile. He squeezed Stiles’ waist and they moved towards the table, Danae and Jon coming out from the kitchen with big plates of food, followed by the rest of their betas. James was there too, and Derek locked eyes with him for a brief moment, before the beta casted his eyes low in submission.

He wouldn’t let fear and ifs guide him this time, he had to be strong because he was finally being able to have back all the things he had lost. A family, a pack. Love.

***

Lunch was a loud affair, slow and full of laughter. The only one who remained silent for the most of it was James, who casted worried glances to Derek and Danae every now and then. Derek grinned at his food, thinking about how he must feel now, not knowing what was planned for him.

He usually wasn’t so cruel, but his wolf was very happy for this small revenge towards the one that had threatened to take away his mate. He and Stiles might be new to this relationship, but his wolf felt more possessive than ever, and he didn’t want to scare Stiles away with the intensity of it, although he was almost sure that he wouldn’t mind. They had danced around each other for so long and now finally they made it, and all Derek wanted was to keep him happy and safe.

“This was a nice lunch,” Stiles murmured to him, resting his head on his shoulder, “I’m full and ready for a nap,”

“Mh I think I could use one too,” Derek answered, burying his head in Stiles’ hair.

“I bet,” Jackson commented, “We all need a nap, after what we heard tonight. I probably need therapy too.” He added with a disgusted face, but with no heat behind it.

Derek felt his ears heat up in embarrassment and noticed that Stiles’ cheeks were flushed too, but the boy was grinning nonetheless to Jackson. Before he could open his mouth and comment with something that would make Derek really embarrassed, Derek kissed him quickly and chastely.

“Let’s go have that nap,” he said, trying not let his arousal show through at the thought of their recent activities. They needed a nap, so for this time Derek would be happy just to enjoy some cuddles with Stiles.

Stiles nodded at him, tangling their fingers and after excusing themselves, they got up and went to their room, stomachs full, and limbs heavy and smiling faces. They shed off their clothes, remaining in just their underpants and climbing under the soft, light covers. They wrapped around each other, comfortably slotting their limbs, Derek’s head resting on Stiles’ chest, just above his heart. Stiles’ finger carding through his hair as Derek’s hand caressed softly up and down Stiles’ flank.

They fell asleep quickly, rest needed for the evening and night that awaited them.

***

When they got up, Derek could feel that Stiles was a jittery ball of nerves. It wasn’t in a bad way, he was just excited for the game they were going to play in a few. There was an undercurrent of apprehension under the excitement, and that was probably due to the fact that after the game finished, right before dinner, Danae was going to announce James fate to the rest of their packs.

In the end Stiles hadn’t wanted to know what he and Danae had decided for the beta, he just made sure that no real harm was going to be done. Derek at first was a little bothered by the request, but then Stiles reassured him that it wasn’t because he had any kind of feeling for James, he was a stranger after all. It was just that he was really enjoying the time with the Clarke’s pack, he wanted a peaceful alliance with them, and as an emissary, that was his advice for them on this situation.

When Stiles had said it, his voice not wavering when he proclaimed his role of emissary, Derek had felt extremely proud of him. He had kissed his cheek and reassured him that nothing over the lines was going to happen, just that both packs were going to understand and respect both the Alpha’s positions in this alliance to come.

Now Stiles was bouncing left and right, muttering to himself about the game. Danae was going to explain the rules to them as they all gathered outside, but Derek already knew them. After all, he used to play it when he was young and all his family was still alive. He felt a familiar burn at the height of his heart at the thought, but he shook his head and with it, the sad feeling the memories gave him, deciding that he wanted to trade those sad feelings with happy ones and make those memories happy again.

Creating new memories won’t erase the old ones, but perhaps, Derek thought, they will make the memories he had wanted to forget for so long pleasant ones again. In the past years, thinking about his family hadn’t been so hard as it was at the beginning. This didn’t meant that he was forgetting them or replacing them with the new family he had created for himself, despite all his reluctance at the beginning to call them that way.

Derek had realized that the people around him were helping him heal and making him able to cherish again the memories of his past. After today, maybe he could remember with happiness all the times he and Laura had spent plotting hiding places before playing this game with their pack. How they took a little Cora and their younger cousins with them, helping them to hide in the best places to make the game more interesting. A sad smile graced Derek’s lips, soon turning into a fond one as his eyes went back to Stiles’ flailing arms and frantic mumbling. He could faintly hear the chatter of the others gathering in the garden and decided it was time to go for them too.

“Come on,” Derek said, standing from his place on the bed and grabbing Stiles’ hands to stop their flailing, turning him around to give him a peck on the lips, “Let’s go, the others are already outside,”

Stiles nodded, giving him another kiss and they headed out to join the others.

***

Outside almost everyone was sitting on the grass, the newcomers waiting for Danae to explain and the others just waiting to start playing. Derek sat with his pack, Stiles between his legs, already plotting with Lydia and Allison, even though they had no idea what they had to do to win.

“Attention, everyone!” Danae said, “So, since we are finally all here, we can begin with the rules,”

Stiles settled against Derek’s chest, and the wolf wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his nose in the short hair at the nape of his neck. He inhaled Stiles’ scent as the other Danae started talking to the whole group.

“So, it’s pretty simple. The wolves hide and the humans look for us. I was thinking that we could do two with pack against the other, or mix them. We can set a time limit if you want to make it a little more competitive.” She smirked at everyone, “I’d prefer a little challenge with our two packs, in friendly way of course. What do you think?”

A chorus of assent came from the whole group, so Danae nodded and continued.

“Okay, so,” she continued, “the groups must be equal in number, so since in the Hale pack there are four ‘humans’,” she quoted with her fingers in the air, since they weren’t all exactly human, “the same will be for my pack. Guys, decide who you want on our team and don’t go easy on them,” she then said addressing her pack with a wink.

“Oh, bring it on,” Stiles said, grinning widely. Derek chuckled, flashing jokingly her eyes at her, accepting the challenge for his pack.

“There will be a prize,” she said lastly, “Me and Derek have decided that whoever wins, will go to the others pack place for two weeks this summer. Since we both have big packs, to not leave the territory uncovered, we decided to give two weeks for each part of the pack, so they can enjoy the place.”

Everyone cheered at that, and Derek could feel the excitement in the air, the crackling emotions preceding a nice challenge. He was ready, and he believed in his team, but mostly he was happy enough to play with his betas and with his mate. He didn’t care much for winning. Of course it would make his wolf really happy, seeing his pack win would mean a lot, but in the end he just wanted them to have fun and bond with everyone, and the same was for him.

To make it more complicated, they added two betas of Danae’s pack to Derek wolves team, so that there would be four humans in each team that would seek for six wolves in the big preserve. And it wasn’t just that. After finding them, started the chase. They had to catch the wolves before they got back to the house.

Of course, the wolves would use not all of their strength, but surely they weren’t going to make it easy anyway. Danae’s human team had a magic human too, so they were almost equal with Derek’s human team. Except Derek knew his team wasn’t to be underestimated. The team was composed by [Dean, Cas](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/37/6f/eb/376feb657a99d13b6dc4743baacff9b4.jpg), the magical one, [Kenzi](http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/ksenia-solo-lost-girl-1.jpg), a strange girl with a russian heritage, and [Jess](http://makeup411.com/411_product_images/2608_Zooey-D_New-Girl-4_webCrop.jpg), a strange girl who was always singing.

On Danae’s team, other than her, there were Jon and three of her betas, [Freddie](http://66.media.tumblr.com/9812fcbefcf0e7ef3745cd489617d47a/tumblr_nlz9vhB98O1urynu5o5_r1_400.gif), a quirky blond boy with a mischievous smile, his boyfriend [Kieren](http://www.christophershinn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/tumblr_n89djwEdkm1tsb5e1o1_500.png), with sweet eyes and curly dirty blond hair, [Bo](https://www.google.it/search?q=Bo+lost+girl&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNiqi-vvDMAhXGKCwKHcL2D6UQ_AUIBygB&biw=1366&bih=643#imgdii=hoe5CCPCKwc2SM%3A%3Bhoe5CCPCKwc2SM%3A%3BSmkjBbN15qc9vM%3A&imgrc=hoe5CCPCKwc2SM%3A), who was half incubi and half werewolf, and [Sam](http://media3.popsugar-assets.com/files/2014/12/22/916/n/1922398/d195fe162ed88a22_thumb_temp_image881416727508.xxlarge.jpg), a freakishly tall guy who looked a lot like Dean. Derek supposed they were brothers, even though just Sam was a werewolf apparently. On Derek’s team, other than him, Peter, Jackson and Jordan, Danae had let Derek choose two of her betas and Derek had picked [Max](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/651875720898064384/DElyBeyO_400x400.jpg), a girl that reminded him both of Cora and Erica, and [Lena](http://images.latinpost.com/data/thumbs/full/4971/600/0/0/0/lena-headey.jpg), a beautiful woman with chocolate hair and a nice smile.

James wasn’t playing, he had retreated to his room again by his own volition. Derek was ready to play, ready to be chased and chase. Now the wolves teams were standing at opposite sides near the tree line, deciding their strategies, while the humans were still sitting on the grass and plotting even thought they hadn’t any idea of how the wolves were going to act. Remus stayed between the Alpha teams, he was going to stay at the three line to be the referee.

When they had all finished, Danae and Derek shook their hands and turned to the others.

“Well everyone,” Derek said, “Have fun!” Danae finished with an evil smirk, and they both sprinted into the threes, soon followed by their teams. The humans would go after them when ten minutes passed, to give them time to hide properly themselves and their tracks.

Before leaving Derek had checked out Stiles, and he was smiling right at him, a glint in his eyes telling Derek that he would get him no matter what. Stiles was telling him that Derek was his and he was going to claim him just as much as he had claimed Stiles. Derek smiled back at him, accepting his ulterior challenge and mouthed at him a ‘Catch me if you can,” and disappeared in the thick of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I watch a lot of TV shows as you can see ;) 
> 
> Dean is Jensen Ackles, Cas is Misha Collins and Sam is Jared Padalecki, all from Supernatural.  
> Kenzi is Ksenia Solo, I loved her in Lost Girl!  
> Jess is Zooey Deschanel, from New Girl.  
> Freddie is Freddie Fox, you can see him in the triade of Banana, Cucumber and Tofu, three LGBT themed series.  
> Kieren is Luke Newberry, because I loved in In The Flesh, and he does a small part in Banana, with Freddie.  
> Bo is Anna Silk, she's also from Lost Girl.  
> Max is Kat Dennings from Two Broke Girls.  
> And Lena is Lena Headey, the beautiful Cercei from GoT.


	22. 5.2 - My, my...where have you gone to hide?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go :) I really enjoyed writing this chapter! I hope you all like it! :)  
> There are a few pov switch towards the end, I hope it's not too confusing!

Before entering the preserve to follow the wolves, Remus had given them a small map of the preserve, so if they got lost at least they had something to give them a clue where to go. They had to catch the wolves in four hours maximum, and with the width of the place, it wasn’t something so simple, but since it was already three in the afternoon they wanted everyone to be back before sunset.

Stiles, Danny, Lydia and Allison had decided to explore the preserve in halves, first the left side then the right, looking for tracks and clues. Of course, the werewolves had to leave something behind, like a footprint or twisted twigs and so on. They could make fake trails too, so it relied all in the abilities of the catchers to be able to find them.

As they entered the line of threes, they stopped and pretended to look at the map and decide where to go, waiting for the other team to be far enough. Then Stiles casted a spell to hide their scents from wolves’ noses, but not their heartbeats nor their voices, otherwise there will be no challenge for the wolves, since they had to use their abilities too to hide from them.

Before they moved he casted another one, this time on the map, which would allow them to have a clear view of where they were going, signing their path with a coloured line for each of them. Stiles knew he could easily enchant it to find the wolves, but he wanted to play fair and mostly he wanted to prove his abilities to the other pack.

The left side was the smaller one, mostly occupied by one side of the lake, and that was why they decided to search there first. Stiles had the impression that Derek would be at the end of the preserve, hiding alone in the thick of the threes while his teammates would be scattered elsewhere in the preserve.

“I think we should try and catch them as soon as we find them,” he said quietly to the girls, as they started walking, following an imaginary path in the trees, “Derek surely decided to split up and he is probably hiding in the most difficult spot he could find, that sourwolf. To not wander up and down like  and loose time we should catch them one by one at the first occasion, not give them the time to run towards the house or alert the others,”

The girls agreed chuckling lightly, and making fun of him for his fond tone. He accepted the teasing, because he knew it was true, now more than ever, that he was gone for the wolf.

“What if they decided to split like this,” Allison said pointing six spots in the map, two for each side of the lake and two at the far end of the preserve.

“They might have, like that it would take a long time for us to find everyone,” Lydia agreed, “How do you think they split up? Jackson, Jordan and Peter together or in pairs with Derek, Max and Lena?”

“Jordan and Max here, since I think those two like each other,” she said pointing to the left side of the map, “Peter and Lena here and they will be fast runners, that’s why at least one of them would be near the house,” she pointed to the right.

“And of course Derek is surely hidden around here, where it won’t be easy to find him,” Lydia finished.

“Probably Jackson will be near Derek, trying to bait us there and distract us from him,” Danny added.

“Nah,” Stiles said, “I don’t think so…probably Peter is the one Jackson will be baiting for, not Derek. I’m pretty sure he found a place where to hide near the house, so if we find him he could sprint right to the house not to get caught.” He stopped to think for a moment.”

“What about Lena, Max and Jordan then?” Lydia asked.

“Max and Jordan are probably the only ones we got right,” Danny stated looking back at them map to have an idea of how far they had walked. It wasn’t much, but they still had time. For now.

“He’d want someone who knows the place before him, so in case we found them, they could run and alert him before we reach him, that’s why Lena or Max will be near him. Peter will be just a distraction, being stealthy as he is it would take us a while to find him, especially because he will be in an area practically made of just trees and places to hide,” Stiles finished, nodding to himself.

“You are probably right,” Allison countered, “But at least we figured out how they might be located, and that’s a start. I think we should walk a little faster, though. I know we have four hours, but I’d like not to take chances,”

“You’re right. uckily we know our wolves pretty well, so we know what they’re up to. The only problem now is finding them,” Stiles said, looking at the map and tapping his chin with his index.

They all stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking about what to do and looking around for any trace of trails, his pace speeding just slightly when Stiles interrupted the silence.

“Ah-ah!” he said, making the others jump a little.

“What?” Lydia asked slightly annoyed.

“I know a sort of tracking spell, a light one that will allow us to see the paths they’ve taken. The catch, being a light spell, is that we’ll see all the trails, not only the wolves ones. So we might end up following the other humans,” he explained.

“What about animals?” Danny asked.

“Animals’ tracks will be traced, they’ll just be smaller and less clear,” he said, “Instead of seeing them on the map like our though, we’ll see like a coloured mist on the ground signing the path,”

“What if Derek has turned into a wolf?” Lydia asked, smartly.

“Let’s find the others, then I’ll see if I can make the animals’ trails clearer, or focus on the wolves ones,” he said, “Now you want me to do the spell or not? It will advantage us, but it won’t be like cheating.”

“Yeah, it’s useful,” Allison agreed, “We’ll need to be careful and not mess up though, so I’ll keep an eye open for extra tracks,”

“And when we find them,” Lydia added with a smirk, “I think I know exactly how to slow them down enough to catch them.”

“I’ll just tackle Jackson as soon as I see him,” Danny added, bumping shoulders with her.

They all laughed at their matching evil expression, and then Stiles proceeded with his spell.

His eyes closed as he concentrated and knelt, his palms digging in the fresh, moist dirt, opening a channel between him and the nature. He felt the current of energy tingling his fingers, making him part of the nature itself, becoming part of the preserve around him for a moment as the connection stabilized.

When he got up again, he could still feel the current of magic running under his skin, the new connection making him able to feel the life in the preserve, the threes, the fishes and the animals. Even the werewolves’ thudding, calm pulse and the quick beat of the humans’ hearts. He couldn’t say where they were, because he felt more than just the ones that were playing, but it was reassuring to feel all of them around him.

He smiled to the girls when he saw their shocked faces, and Danny just shook his head in amazement. They knew he was good with his magic, but hadn’t been able to show off his new progress in a while, especially to Danny. Around them, there were lingering misty trails of a bright yellow, thick and vibrating, guiding them to their target hopefully. There were some pale blue ones, smaller and fainter tracing the animals’ paths.

Their team trails were the same colour of the lines that traced themselves on the map as they walked; red for Stiles, white for Danny, purple for Lydia and blue for Allison, so they wouldn’t get confused and followed their own tracks.

They started following one of the yellow trails, a lone line that separated from the four that headed towards the lake. It could be one of Derek’s team or one of Danae’s, but they decided that since the other human team hadn’t followed it, maybe they were in luck and it was one of their ‘preys’.

“Let’s try and be quiet,” Stiles murmured, “I think we are following the right one, probably Jordan or Max might be near,”

“I’d say Max is nearer then him,” Danny whispered with a smirk, “Look,” he pointed to a tree a few steps from them.

When Stiles looked closer, he could see four claw marks on the bark and since Jordan hadn’t still learned to turn just partly yet, at least without slightly burning something in the process. Danny was probably right. Since he was the one who knew her best between them. If their suppositions were correct, and everyone was where they thought maybe they could be quick enough to win.

“She has the habit of scratching around when he goes on runs,” Danny said quietly, “she says she enjoys the feel under her fingernails, but then I’m the one who has to clean her nail after,” he rolled his eyes with a small snort.

After that, they kept quiet, and after a few other feet, they found the place where Max was probably hiding. The trail led to a small alcove made by trees and rocks, but they couldn’t see inside because the entryway was in the upper part. They covered all the parts around half of it, covering all the spots from where she might try to run. At a nod from Stiles, they all secured their stances and Stiles knelt once again.

He willed the trees that made up the alcove to open up and reveal the inside. They slowly opened and they could see Max inside, crouched down and ready to run. She wasn’t in her beta form, but her mischievous smile promised trouble anyway.

Before any of them could act, she jumped up and then backwards, running in the opposite direction of them. They started running after her, but she was gaining speed and Stiles didn’t want to risk hurting her using his magic to slow her down.

Suddenly Lydia stopped; putting her hands on her hips and Stiles’ eyes widened when he understood was she was going to do. Allison and Danny noticed too, and they quickly covered their ears and Stiles did the same.

Lydia’s scream was nothing compared to the ones she emitted when someone died or danger was close. It was tamer but effective enough to make Max groan in pain and fall with her hand covering her ears. The pack was mostly unaffected by a scream this low by now, because they had trained with Lydia help her affine her abilities. Stiles kept running towards her, Danny following him while Allison stayed with Lydia a few steps behind.

They stood next to Max and she grinned at them, moving her head left and right to shake the pain away.

“You got me, but I am an easy girl after all,” she said smirking at her own words, then grimacing slightly, “Damn, that hurt. Anyway, I’m going back to the house, so good luck with finding the others!”

She stood up, but before she could go Stiles stopped her.

“Wait,” he said, “Can I give you this to sign you as our catch?” he showed her a black band.

“Uh, already collaring me, magic boy?” she asked with a brow arched, “I’m easy, but not _that_ easy. Buy me pizza first,” she joked.

“It’s for your wrist,” he said with a laugh, “and anyway, I’ve already got someone to buy pizza to.”

“Oh, trust me, that’s pretty clear after yesterday,” she stated chuckling, “James’ an idiot, so don’t mind him. Now hurry up, tie that thing so I can go and you can continue your hunt.”

Stiles wrapped the band loosely around her wrist, and secured it with a brush of his finger so he could be the only one to take it off since he wanted to be sure she won’t lose it on her way back.

“See you later,” she said and without waiting for an answer, she bolted away to the direction they had come from.

***

After catching Max, they had kept walking and after some struggles they had found Jordan first, whom Stiles had caught with a water bubble when Allison had distracted him, and Jackson after. Jackson kept them running around like fools, making them loose precious time and waste energies, but in the end Danny had tricked him, faking a left sprint and then going right just as Jackson went in that direction. It had ended with Danny tackling Jackson to the ground with a laugh, and Jackson kissing him fiercely, proud of his mate.

Stiles had no idea how many of Danae’s team had already been caught by the other team, but they had already three under their belt, and a little more than two hours to spare.

The only problem now was Peter, because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find him. He had left many trails, but every one of them took nowhere and they were getting frustrated.

“Let’s stop and rest for a moment,” Lydia said with a sigh as she sat on a big tree stump. The others followed with nods, sitting around her where they could. Stiles closed his eyes, sitting on the ground and digging his fingers in the dirt, releasing some of the energy he had channelled earlier from the preserve.

He was focused on the tingling at his fingertips when he felt it. There was a presence near them, a very familiar one. Stiles pretended to ignore it, keeping his heartbeat steady and examining the map. They had run around the upper area of the preserve following tracks, and Stiles now realized that probably Peter had been behind them all the time. Following them to make sure they lost time and got frustrated. Damn him.

Stiles was thinking of a way to get them back on track and catch Peter at the same time, when Allison spoke.

“I think we should keep going,” she said, “Right now we are only loosing time, we should try and find the others and check this area again later,” she looked right at Stiles as she said it, and he understood that she too had probably picked up something with her hunter senses.

“Yeah,” he agreed, sighing in fake defeat. “I think it’s a good idea, so let’s get back on the move,” they were going to beat Peter at his own game and he didn’t even knew it. They all stood up and gathered around Stiles, checking the map and then starting to walk again.

A plan was already forming in Stiles’ head and he needed to communicate silently to Lydia, but with the wolf still tailing them, he couldn’t risk it. He knew just a way to talk to her without actually talking, but he had tried just once and he didn’t know if he would be able now. He decided to try, hoping that the bit of magic supplied from the nature around him would help.

He focused on Lydia and called her name in his head a couple of times. It didn’t seem to work, but Stiles wasn’t anything if not stubborn, so he tried again. He felt a small flick behind his left ear and Lydia turned her face to him, a confused look on it soon replaced in understanding when she saw Stiles’ expression.

 _“Can you hear me?”_ he asked her, once again in his head. She nodded minutely, turning her head again to watch where she was going.

 _“Peter is following us,”_ he explained, _“He’s doing it since after Jackson, he left mixed trails so we wouldn’t notice, but when we stopped, I sensed him.”_

Lydia bent her head slightly, like she was thinking, letting him know she was listening still.

 _“I’ve got a plan,”_ he continued, keeping an eye on the path and trying to feel where Peter was now, _“I think Allison too suspects he’s toying with us, so she’ll be ready to attack if needed. Here’s what you’re going to do, when Peter is close enough, I’ll tell you to scream, just like you did with Max. Do it a little stronger though, the whole pack has practiced with you and they’re a little too resistant to low screams. We don’t want him to escape,”_

She smirked and that was enough of an agreement to Stiles. He dimmed the connection with her and focused solely on Peter.

“You damn werewolf, I know you were around there, we’ll come back later to get you and this time we will,” he said grumpily, trying to keep the façade.

“You bet we’re going to get him. I want to win, I like it here and I want to come back,” Allison said with conviction.

“You can come here whenever you want,” Danny said, “But it would be nice to win and show them that my pack is as amazing as I told them,”

“Oh, we will, don’t worry,” Lydia grinned evilly, “Let’s find the other two, then we’ll take care of Peter,”

“Yeah,” they all agreed and kept walking with determination, Lydia at the end of the group with Stiles while Allison and Danny at the front guided them following another bright yellow trail.

Peter was getting closer and closer, so this meant that they were going in the right direction. Maybe if they were lucky, they would catch two birds with one stone. According to Danny, Lena was fast, so if she heard the scream she would be ready to run and they might lose her. He sped up and asked Allison to let him see the map, so he could estimate for how much longer they could wait before acting.

If they got to close to Lena, Peter might decide to run back, so they really had to chase him later, but if they weren’t close enough she could try and run for the house. Looking at the map, he realized they were close to the area where Lena should be, but Peter was still following them.

Something wasn’t right.

Fuck, Stiles thought, Derek was here, not Lena. Of course, so if she heard the commotion she would be quick to head for the house not leaving them a chance to catch her.

Stiles frantically searched for a way to avoid it and catch all of them and only one thing came to mind.

He focused even more on the nature surrounding him, and he could exactly spot where Peter was. Lydia’s scream would hit him hard enough to render him unconscious probably. He then tried to focus on Derek, opening a connection with him, like he had did earlier with Lydia. When he felt the flick on his ear again, he knew he did it.

 _“So, my lovely sourwolf,”_ Stiles said in a teasing voice, _“Where have you gone to hide?”_

No answer came, because Stiles wasn’t powerful enough yet to open a connection that could go both ways, especially at a distance. When he had tried for the first time, back at home, Lydia had been able to give him an answer, but that had been brief and extremely tiring for Stiles’ magic. But with the extra magic the nature was giving him he could keep the connection open to talk to Derek and try to locate him with it.

 _“I wonder,”_ Stiles kept going in his head, _“if you’re near. Or are you still far and waiting for me to find you and chase you? I think you would like to chase me more. Wouldn’t you, my mate?”_ he teased.

This must’ve elicited a reaction from the Alpha, because in a second Stiles could tell that he wasn’t far from them. That meant his plan could work. He glanced at Lydia, Allison and Danny and nodded to himself. He walked a few steps away from them, towards the opposite direction where he knew Derek was. He placed himself so he would be heading to the house and to the last wolf that they had to catch.

“Lydia,” Stiles said in a casual voice, patting his legs with fingers sparkling with magic.

“Yes?” the girl said, with her own dose of nonchalance.

“I gotta run, so,” he grinned, “Now!”

As soon as Lydia was screaming, he started running. He had spelled his legs to run faster and be more resistant. He had to reach Lena before she made it to the house. Lydia, Allison and Danny could catch Peter and he already had something in mind for Derek.

He opened back the connection with him and smiled charmingly.

 _“What about that chase, uh, my wolf?”_ he asked, _“Don’t you want to run after me and catch me? Let your wolf free and let him track me, catch me and pin me down? He doesn’t’ want to let his mate know what a good predator he is? Or you think you can’t catch me?”_

Stiles let out a trilled laugh as he heard Derek howl. He had shifted in his Alpha form and surely, it wouldn’t be long before he reached Stiles.

The emissary though wasn’t going to give up. Lena was surely near now and even if she was already running, he could make it. He could feel Derek’s paws thundering on the ground, fast like the beat of his own heart. He felt thrilled, elated, as he ran between the trees with Derek following him. The excitement of being chased and to be chasing sending rushes of adrenaline throughout his whole body, making his senses sharper, he was almost feeling like a predator too.

He found himself running even faster, leaving Derek behind and he caught sight of Lena, running shifted in her beta form but still holding back her speed. Or at least Stiles supposed she was holding back, because he was reaching her in no time, Derek was even further back now. He could see the line of trees that delimited the preserve, and a glimpse of the house. He went for one last sprint, pushing his legs to the limit and as he was a few feet from her, he reached out to catch her.

They tumbled on the ground, and when Stiles made to stop her with his hands, he didn’t saw any. He saw two dark-red paws instead of his hands and he sat back on his…haunches?

Lena was looking at him with wide eyes, and Stiles now understood why he had felt like a predator himself while he was running. He was so focused on Derek’s wolf and in the chase, that his magic had turned him into a wolf to ease his task.

“You…Ahem,” Lena cleared his throat, her voice confused, “You caught me…”

He barked playfully at her and jumped back, before she, or anyone else, had time to ask something. He headed back to the preserve to catch Derek. He didn’t know if his mate had seen him in this form, so he ran to him, wanting to prance and parade his new form with him. And to catch him, of course.

As he was running, he could hear Lydia, Allison, Danny and Peter coming back towards the house, and he was sure they had caught him. They had almost won, now he had to make the biggest catch.

He slowed down when he saw that Derek was approaching and sat back waiting for him. He positioned himself in a jumping position, his butt in the air, muzzle down and tail wiggling happily. When Derek saw him Stiles let out a joyous yip and then jumped on him in a playful way.

Derek was probably too shocked, because at first he didn’t react. Stiles nipped his ear, pushing him on the side with his head, trying to coax him into a reaction. It worked, because Derek jumped back on him, nipping and pushing, tails entangling every now and then.

Stiles was loving this playful side of Derek’s wolf, and was extremely happy to be able to be with him in this way. He had to take him to the house as his catch though, so he teased Derek into following him, jumping backwards every time he got too close.

As soon as they were outside the line of trees, Stiles jumped on Derek, flattening him on the ground and setting himself comfortably on him. He rested his head on Derek’s, nipping his ear once again declaring his victory, scenting the black wolf and claiming him as his. Derek set his head on his paws, accepting Stiles’ claim on him and letting him scent him as much as he wanted. Stiles moved, settling half of his body on Derek’s, brushing their muzzles and tangling their tails once again.

***

Derek had been following Stiles closely when he had started to run faster and then Derek had lost sight of him. Thinking about a trap that the other had set to get him before he reached the house, Derek had slowed down, hoping that Lena would reach the house before being caught. He slowed his run to a careful pace, straining his ears to listen to every sound.

He heard Lena admitting defeat and a playful bark he didn’t recognize. He waited, hearing footsteps approaching, wolf ones, so he imagined Danae was coming towards him, but he couldn’t understand why she was nor why he wasn’t smelling her scent but just Stiles’. He cautiously padded towards the sound of footsteps and found himself in front of an unknown wolf.

His fur was dark-red, tail fluff and long. The tips of his ears, like the end of his paws, were of an even darker red. He wolf stood there, ready to jump at him, his butt in the air and the tail wiggling back and forth in a playful manner. When the wolf jumped a whiff of his scent went to Derek’s nose and he realized with a shock that, even though the scent was minutely different from his human one, that was Stiles.

***

Right now, Stiles couldn’t care less about the competition, but he saw Remus talking with Danae and Lydia, so probably they were talking about who had won. He wanted to know too, but he felt so good to be with Derek like this, curled around each other and sharing their scents.

The strength and magic he used all evening letting themselves known to his body, even if he was in another form, added to the warmth and comfort that his mate’s body and closeness gave him, lulled Stiles into a pleasant sleep.

***

Derek curled more around his mate when he noticed he had fallen asleep. Derek was enjoying this Stiles just as much he enjoyed his human form. He smelled so good, and now that they were tangled together so tightly, all Derek could smell was their scents combined. Stiles was beautiful even in his wolf form.

Lean, smooth and with a spectacular fur. The colour alone was amazing, and Derek could only imagine how it would feel like to touch it with his human hands. Right now, though he wanted to live this experience in his wolf form, because the bond between them was at a deeper level in this moment. And even if Derek doubted that when Stiles changed back to his human form the bond would revert to a less deeper level, he wanted to enjoy it as it was as much as he could.

Something told him though, that after this, when Stiles got back to his gangly limbs and pale freckled skin, their bond would be even stronger than now, because now they were sharing both their human soul and wolf one.

Derek never believed that this would have been possible with a human mate, but apparently, Derek’s human was even more amazing than what he had thought.

***

Stiles was woken up by a wet swipe of tongue on his nose, followed by a soft head-butt. He pressed his own head against it, their ear twitching where they touched. Derek smelled divine to him, and Stiles hoped he could change into this form again. But he assumed that his mate was waking him up because they had to eat.

As the thought of dinner entered Stiles’ mind, he remembered about James’ ‘trial’. He didn’t knew what was going to happen, so he tried to enjoy this moments with Derek, knowing that if what the two Alphas had planned was something too much, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the rest of the evening.

He trusted Derek not to screw up with a hasty decision, guided solely by jealousy and revenge. In the end James had acted like a child in search of attention, so he had faith in the fact that Derek had saw many childish acts in the past years and he would be able to recognize it as such.

Derek got up on all fours. He shifted back to his beta form and then to his human one, in all his naked glory for Stiles to watch. He put on some sweats that probably someone had brought there for them.

Stiles didn’t want to change back yet, so he tried to convey it to Derek like he had done in the preserve. He understood, petting Stiles’ head and motioning for him to follow. They went to Danae, Remus and Jon. The three looked at Stiles with a mix of amusement and curiosity, but this wasn’t the time for questions.

Stiles sat back on his haunches, setting himself in a serious stance as they moved to the serious part of the evening.

***

Derek stood straight and dignified next to Danae, their status clear as they stood in front of everyone. Stiles was at his right, while Jon and Remus were at Danae’s.

They looked at everyone, then Danae turned towards him and she nodded, taking a step back.

“James,” he said in a sharp voice. The beta flinched, his head bent. “Come forward.”


	23. 5.3 – Equal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Derek's POV, then Stiles', then Derek's again for the last small bit.  
> I hope it's not too confusing, I tried to separate as best as I could, like in the other chapters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, I hope you enjoy :)

Derek could feel Stiles tremble at his side at his tone as he ordered to the beta to come in front of him. He bit back the smirk that threatened to escape, thinking that if Stiles was tense about this, probably James was dying a little more with every second that ticked away.

James was a few feet away from him, and Derek took a step forward. The beta’s eyes flickered quickly to his and Derek flashed his eyes at him. James whimpered, his eyes falling down again, chin against his chest and throat slightly bared to him. Derek liked the fact that the boy was submitting to him, this appeased his wolf’s senses. Since the beta had been disrespectful of his Alpha status, the fact that now he was submitting to him just with a flash of red in Derek’s eyes made him calmer.

He started circling the boy, slow steps around him, and the scent of his fear thickening on his nostril as every step Derek made.

“Tell me,” Derek said when he was behind the boy, his voice low and sharp, “What do you think I should do with you?”

“I…” James voice wavered, and he swallowed heavily glancing up at his Alpha and seeing her stern expression, before trying again, “Whatever punishment you think it’s fair, Alpha Hale,”

“And you’ll just accept it?” Derek asked, stepping closer to him but still keeping himself away from his field of vision.

“Yes,” James answered, his voice was full of fear but was nonetheless sure. Derek hoped it was because he understood what he had done, not because he wanted to show his bravery to his pack.

“So, let’s say,” he said, resting his right hand heavily on James’ right shoulder, “If I were to take you away with me, make you part of my pack but as the lowest part of it, you’ll accept?”

“Yes, Alpha Hale,” someone whimpered behind them, but Derek continued.

“What if I decided to take you somewhere far from here, let you run and then chase you until you can’t run anymore,” he gripped tighter on his shoulder, “And then kill you? You’ll accept?”

James was silent for a moment, Derek felt him tremble under his hand and he pitied him, but he had to do this. The boy inhaled deeply, craning his neck even more in submission.

“Yes, Alpha Hale,” he answered meekly.

Derek hummed, and steadied himself for his next move. He slid his hand from James shoulder to his neck, feeling him tense up impossibly under his fingers, and then grasped his chin. He lifted his face, turning him slightly to look at Stiles.

“Look at Stiles,” Derek said, “Isn’t he beautiful? He could even turn himself into a wolf with his magic,”

Stiles stood straighter when Derek mentioned him, his fur soft and shiny under the light of the setting sun.

“He is, Alpha Hale,” James stated with widened eyes, and Derek knew he realized just now that Stiles was extremely powerful to do something like that. Derek felt himself swell with pride at his mate skill, but kept his expression and emotions in check.

“Do you think you deserve him?” he asked roughly, “Do you think you could be enough for him?” his hand descended back to James neck, finger resting on his pulse point, “Do you think you could be a better mate for him than me?”

The last question came out in a soft, threatening growl, Derek’s claws elongated and his fangs dropped.

“No, Alpha Hale,” James voice came out trembling, “I don’t,”

Derek smelled a trace of tears and felt a warm drop land on his hand. His wolf whimpered lowly, but he kept him under control, he wasn’t going to let this go.

“You acted like you did though,” his voice was a constant rumble now, deep and menacing, “You acted like you couldn’t even care he was already mated. Especially you didn’t care he was mated with an Alpha,”

James didn’t answer this time, he knew he didn’t had to. Other warm droplets landed on Derek’s skin, but he steeled himself behind the beta. He needed his revenge. He needed him to understand. Stiles was his, just as much Derek was Stiles’. Everyone should know that.

“You defied my authority in front of your Alpha and both of our packs. You threatened to take my mate away from me. You insinuated he would chose you over me,” James sobbed quietly under his grip, the sharp end of his claws pushing lightly on the delicate skin of his neck, “You know what I think I should do with you?”

“Please, Alpha Hale,” the beta pleaded, his voice barely a whisper, “I’m sorry,”

“I think,” Derek continued like James hadn’t spoken, “I should rip your throat out with my teeth.”

He heard a few gasps from behind, but his eyes were fixed on Stiles. The small red wolf was shivering softly, looking at Derek with wide eyes.

“Please,” James pleaded again with a broken sob, his head shaking lightly from side to side.

Derek got closer, his mouth a whisper from James ear.

“You’re lucky I won’t,” he said, letting the boy go and stepping backwards.

James fell on his knees, his body shuddering as the words registered in his mind and the fear thrummed in his body, turning to relief. He kept crying on the ground, and Derek moved in front of him, kneeling in front of his shivering form. Danae was next to him in a moment, she tipped his chin up, looking in his wet eyes and flashing hers to reassure him. James flashed his back in submission then turned his face to Derek.

“I’m really sorry, Alpha Hale,” he said quietly, his eyes now averting Derek’s ones, “I didn’t know and I acted without thinking,”

“I think you understood the gravity of your actions,” Derek said to him, tipping his chin up with a soft tap, “You are forgiven. I’m sorry for what I did, but I had to.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Alpha Hale,” James said, even though his voice was still shaky, “You could have done worse. I’m grateful for your forgiveness,”

Derek smiled at him, and flashed his eyes. James flashed his back at him and let Danae wrap him up in his arms when they stood up. Derek heard him whisper apologies to her too, and he turned his face to Stiles.

His mate was looking at him with a strange glint in his eyes. Derek made his way back to him, and crouched when he reached him. Stiles gave a small lap at Derek’s chin, and then buried his head in his neck, pushing his whole body against Derek’s.

Derek wrapped his arms around him, stroking softly the fur on his back and felt the tension leave Stiles’ body. Stiles quivered and in the blink of an eye, Derek found his arms full of a clingy human. Derek shielded his nakedness from the others with his body, moving them a few steps away, where the clothes left for them earlier still laid in a heap on the grass. Stiles grabbed a pair of sweats and put them on quickly, not bothering to put on a shirt. He was back in Derek’s arms in an instant.

“Is everything all right?” Derek asked to his softly.

“Yes,” Stiles breathed out, nodding against his shoulder, “Not exactly what I expected, though.”

“I’m sorry,” Derek said, brushing a kiss to his temple, “But I had to,”

“Don’t worry, I know,” Stiles said, looking at him and placing a soft his on his lips.

His mate smiled at him and Derek tangled their fingers together as they went back to the others.

The Clarke’s pack was all around James, hugging him and scenting him, and as soon as Derek was within reach his pack did the same with him, just with less hugs.

“This was really intense,” Lydia said, after positioning herself next to Stiles.

“Let me tell you, dude,” Jackson said, referring to Derek, “Now you can be sure I’ll never mess with him again,” he pointed at Stiles. After a few seconds he cocked his head and smirked, adding “Well, not too much,”

Derek rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Stiles’ waist, turning them both around and walking towards Danae and her pack, sure that the rest of his pack would follow him.

James nodded at him again when they stepped before them, then his eyes flickered to Stiles, returning to Derek with a questioning look. Derek nodded at him, understanding his intentions.

“I’m sorry, Alpha Stilinski,” James said, and Derek chuckled when a shocked gasp came from Stiles.

“There’s no need to apologize to me,” Stiles said when he regained his voice, “Or to call me Alpha,” he added, “I’m not one.”

“Your mate is one,” James stated, “So I recognize you as his equal, as it should be. And I apologize to you too, for disrespecting your bond and your status,” his voice never wavered and Derek appreciated his words. Danae was nodding proudly at James’ statement, and she set a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him when he turned his face to her.

“James is right, Stiles,” Derek told him, “The mating bite makes it official, but it’s respectful to acknowledge the equality of our status even prior to that,”

“I accept you apology, then,” Stiles said, nodding lightly to him, “Just, try to be more careful in the future,”

“I will,” James said, offering a smile. Stiles smiled back and so did Derek when the beta’s eyes went to him.

“So,” Stiles clapped his hands smiling widely, breaking the moment and startling everyone a little, “When do we eat? After all this testosterone show, I’m starving!”

Derek groaned, covering his face with his hand. Danae laughed and led them all to the tables with a wave of her hand, telling them they would order pizza, so to decide fast what they wanted.

“You’re a menace,” he whispered in Stiles ear as they walked behind the others towards the tables, biting it lightly and making Stiles yelp in surprise.

“Yeah,” Stiles said, smiling at him and wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck, stopping their walk, “But I’m your menace now,”

Derek rolled his eyes and kissed him, his hands finding their place on Stiles’ hips. He heard a few catcalls from the others and laughed in Stiles’ mouth, his mate laughing with him as they kept sharing small kisses.

“Come on, cut the crap guys,” Jackson yelled, but his voice was amused, “We are all hungry, so come chose your pizza or go get a room,”

“First pizza,” Stiles said, after Derek gave him a last kiss, “Then we already have a room waiting for us,”

“Luckily I won’t be going back with you lot later,” Jackson mumbled as they sat down.

“You’re just jealous of my extremely healthy sex life,” Stiles retorted with a smirk.

“And if Jackson answers to you like a know he wants to,” Danny said, smiling sweetly at them both, resting his hand on Jackson’s, “he really is going to be jealous of it,”

“Stiles,” Derek said, before his mate could say more.

“Yeah?” Stiles’ grinning face turned to him.

“If you want to still have something that Jackson would be jealous of, I suggest you change topic,” he told him, his smile even sweeter than Danny’s, making his threat more real, “If you do, you’ll be very happy later.”

“Of course,” he said, nodding quickly, reaching to give Derek another small kiss, “Let’s talk pizza toppings,” he said, and Derek laughed at his mate quick change of topic. He would reward him later, just as promised. His eyes darkened a little as they roamed on Stiles’ body, smelling the faint scent of arousal lingering on his mate’s body just from his words.

He kissed softly under his ear, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and prepared himself for a long conversation on the pros and cons of pineapple as a topping.

***

Stiles was grateful when the car to take them back to the hotel arrived.

He had enjoyed the dinner immensely, laughing and talking with everyone. He and Derek had exchanged a few words with James too, and Stiles had noticed with amusement how Derek seemed to do always something that will show that he was his when James talked to them. He entwined their fingers, wrapped his arm around Stiles’ shoulders, scoot closer. Stiles was amused and a little bit flattered by how much Derek was staking his claim on him.

Now, though, Stiles was tired. He had said goodbye to everyone barely walking straight, Derek’s hand a comforting guide as they got on the car. He was currently curled on Derek’s side, his arm around him to keep him still as the car took them back. The buried his face in Derek’s neck, enjoying his scent and letting it lull him to sleep.

When he woke up, to warm hands stroking his side and Derek’s voice whispering in his ear, he felt a little more rested, but he couldn’t wait to get up in their room and sleep with Derek curled around him, his strong arms securely wrapped around him, keeping him warm and safe.

A valet helped them with their luggage and in a few minute Stiles found himself wishing goodnight to the others and dragging Derek in bed with him. As Stiles’ knees hit the bed, he let himself fall on it, Derek falling right on top of him with a soft chuckle.

“Aren’t we going to change?” Derek whispered to his ear, leaving a soft kiss under it, “Or get under the covers?”

“Yeah,” Stiles murmured back, his arms wrapped loosely around Derek’s body and his hands roaming up and down his back, “Just a minute,”

Derek kept leaving small kisses on his neck, his hands softly stroking his sides and Stiles shivered, letting his hands wander under Derek’s shirt, touching warm, soft skin. He could feel a spark igniting inside, slowly pushing away his sleepiness and making space to an eager arousal. He pushed Derek’s shirt up, his nails dragging along his back and eliciting a soft moan from Derek.

The wolf lifted up his head from Stiles’ neck, his arms going up too as Stiles rid him of his shirt. Derek did the same with Stiles’ one, attacking right away the new exposed skin. Stiles moved his right hand to tangle into Derek’s hair and brought him up to kiss him. Their kiss was bruising and passionate, growing in intensity as their tongues fought for dominance, their hands grasped flesh and their nails scratched skin. Their pants were removed quickly between pants and soft moans, followed by their boxers and Stiles’ whole body shook with pleasure as their bodies pressed skin on skin from tip to toe.

Derek was now working with particular care to leave a bruise in the hollow of Stiles’ left collarbone, and Stiles moaned, wishing he could leave marks on Derek too. The werewolf’s healing was too fast, and his marks would last merely a few seconds. This wouldn’t surely stop him from making them, though.

“It’s not fair,” he murmured, arching against Derek anyway.

“What?” Derek asked him, his hands gripping Stiles’ hips and pushing him back to the bed.

“I can’t leave marks on you,” he said with a sharp inhale when Derek bit his side lightly, “I want too, but you heal so damn fast,”

“Why don’t you try?” Derek asked, a challenging glint in his eyes. Stiles looked at him for a moment, and then rolled them on the bed, straddling Derek’s thighs and rolling his hips. Their half-hard cocks brushed, and Stiles was distracted from Derek challenge as he could feel himself and Derek get harder as he rolled against him in a slow, teasing motion.

He planted his hands on Derek’s chest and slid forward, now straddling his hips, his ass resting right on top of Derek’s hard dick. He grinded on him with a filthy smirk, making Derek gasp and then groan in frustration when he stopped grinding, lifting his ass just a little so it was barely touching him and bending to latch his mouth on one of Derek’s nipples.

He lapped at the nub, making it harden in his mouth, nibbling and sucking it for a while, his left hand rolling the other in his fingers. Derek pushed his chest against Stiles’ mouth and fingers, whimpering softly when Stiles bit a little too harshly before passing to the nipple that his hand was teasing. He repeated the whole procedure, making Derek pants and moan above him. Derek liked Stiles playing with his nipples, judging by how much pre-come he was leaking on the underside of Stiles’ cock when he tried to get some friction lifting his hips against Stiles’, only managing to barely brush their lengths. He filed the information for later, smirking and wondering if he could make Derek come just by playing with his nipples.

He left his head up to watch the result of his ministrations, and was greeted by a beautiful sight. Derek was flushed, his eyes hazy and almost completely black. He had bitten his lips, making them redder and more swollen then how their kisses had left them. Stiles looked at him and couldn’t resist to bit those swollen lips, his tongue darting out to soothe the sting and then making his way into Derek’s mouth, kissing him hungrily. The wolf kissed him back with just as much hunger, his fingers tangling into Stiles’ hair and tugging him back after a while.

“I thought you wanted to mark me,” he said in a low, seducing tone.

“I’m going to do that too,” Stiles said, trailing kisses on his jaw and stopping right at the end, and started to suck a bruise right there, between his jaw and the underside of Derek’s ear. The wolf shivered beneath him and spurred Stiles to suck harder, with more dedication, as he smirked pleased against Derek’s skin. After a few minutes of sucking and biting, he lifted his head again to see if at least one of the marks he had tried to leave on Derek’s neck had survived.

With his extreme surprise, all of them had stayed there. Derek’s skin was actually littered in small bruises, a bigger one on the underside of his ear, where Stiles had worked diligently before moving along the tendon that had brought his mouth right to Derek’s pulse point.

“You are my equal now, remember?” Derek whispered to him, when he saw the look on Stiles’ face, “My healing is slowed when it concerns you, unless I force my body to heal faster and I’m not planning to do it for something like this,”

Stiles moaned in happiness, diving back into Derek’s neck and sucking a parallel line of bruises on the other side of it. Derek let him, and Stiles continued his ministrations, starting to descend Derek’s chest, nibbling and sucking on all the skin that passed under his mouth, mapping Derek’s body in small purpling marks. When he reached the base of Derek’s cock, though, he found himself with his back against the mattress once again. Derek was looming over him with a devilish smile, his hands pinning Stiles’ ones on the sides of his heads.

“It’s my turn to play now,” he said in a hoarse voice, lowering his face to nose under Stiles’ jaw, “I promised you that I would’ve made you happy earlier, that I would’ve give you something Jackson would really be jealous of, remember?” he asked softly. Stiles trembled at the combination of how low and dangerous Derek’s voice sounded, how hot his breath was against his skin and how impotent yet safe he felt with Derek pinning him down like that.

“Yes,” he answered with a shaky voice, offering more of his neck to Derek, wrapping one of his legs around Derek’s waist to push more of that solid, warm weight against his body.

“You’ll let me, Stiles? You’ll let me make you feel good?” Derek asked him softly, looking straight into his eyes and rolling his hips against Stiles’ at each question, “Will you give me control over your pleasure?” Derek applied a little more pressure on his wrists as he asked the last question and Stiles was gone.

“Yes, Derek, fuck,” Stiles nodded eagerly, grinding up in time with Derek’s rolling hips, gripping his shoulders to anchor himself, “Whatever you want, please,”

“I’ve got you,” Derek said, kissing his lips softly, and stopping the rolling motion.

Derek kissed his whole chest, bit and sucked thoroughly from his calves to his shoulders, teasing his nipples and getting Stiles closer and closer to his orgasm, but always stopping when he was about to come. Stiles was trashing desperately and he needed to come, he pleaded Derek and when the wolf wrapped his lips around the tip of his dick, swallowed him to the root and sucked harshly without notice, Stiles came with a loud moan.

His eyes closed, his back arched, as Derek’s mouth swallowed every drop of his come until he curled around him, pushing his mouth away, too sensitive to have him still there. Derek pushed him back on the bed, kissing him and Stiles could taste himself in Derek’s mouth. He kissed him deeply, liking their tastes combined.

Before Stiles could collect himself enough to reciprocate the favour, Derek was turning him around of his stomach, draping himself all over Stiles’ back.

“Derek?” he asked, his breath still short from his orgasm.

“You thought I was already done with you, babe?” Derek’s raspy voice was deliberately slow as his lips brushed against the shell of his ear with every word.

Stiles felt himself shiver once again, the feeling of Derek’s whole body pressed against his, the endearment he had just used and the promise of more pleasure in his words. He couldn’t wait to see what else Derek had in mind for him. He hoped Derek would fuck him, even though this wasn’t the ideal place for their first time, Stiles wasn’t that picky. Now he had just to wait and see what Derek wanted to do to him.

He relaxed completely under the warmth of his hands and the sweetness of his kisses. Derek had lifted himself up from his body and starting from his nape, he had begun to leave small kisses on his skin. Stiles inhaled sharply when blunt teeth dragged from his shoulder to the juncture of his neck, biting there, bruising. Derek kept a slow pace, kissing him and biting him when he less expected it, and Stiles could feel his arousal build up again quickly, especially when Derek started to go slower and made room for his legs between Stiles’. His cock was slightly sensitive trapped between his stomach and the warm sheets, but it was filling up once again and Stiles squirmed minutely.

Derek’s hands grabbed strongly his hips, a hint of claws piercing his skin and fangs dropping to drag on the soft skin of his cheeks, surpassing them and going to suck bruises on Stiles’ tender thighs. Stiles was a shivering mess under Derek’s mouth, and he knew that tomorrow he would wake up with his body completely marked. He rolled his hips against the sheets and released a pleased sigh at the thought, which turned in a strangled moan when Derek bit his left cheek with a low growl.

The wolf climbed back to his ear, his hot breath burning Stiles’ sensitive skin on his wake, and stilled there to nip at his neck once more.

“Now,” Derek said, so low that it was almost a rumble, “You’re are going to lift your hips,” Stiles did with no question, and Derek put a pillow under him swiftly, “And you’re going to stay still…” he descended again, settling himself with his face right in front of Stiles’ ass, “…because I’m going to make you feel good.”

Stiles breathed out heavily, and Derek placed small teasing kisses on his cheeks, his fingers massaging the flesh, dipping into the crease between his thighs and ass, grabbing handfuls of it. Derek started kissing him sloppily from the bottom of his spine, going along his cleft, his fingers opening it slightly so that his kisses were more teasing that satisfying.

Stiles pushed back against him, wanting more pressure, more contact, more something. Derek chuckled darkly, his hands sliding again from Stiles’ ass to his hips to keep him still. His fingers were splayed so he could reach out to spread Stiles’, revealing him completely to Derek. Stiles buried his face in his arms. He could feel the embarrassment burning on his face. He hadn’t come this far with anyone, so he was feeling conflicted between arousal and shyness. When Derek swiped his tongue from the underside of his balls to the top of his cleft, the arousal won, and Stiles let out a long groan.

Derek settled more comfortably between his legs and got to work. His tongue was teasing around Stiles’ hole, making it quiver in anticipation for what was to come. When Derek’s tongue pushed against his entrance without breaching, Stiles tried to push back against it, but he was pinned to the bed and all he could do was lay there and take it.

Derek took his time to tease him, sucking on his sensitive flesh, licking and kissing. He nipped at his rim and before Stiles could react, his tongue was delving inside him. Stiles moaned, arching his back with no avail, and Derek slowly licked inside him, a slow rumble coming from him and reverberating against his sensitive skin. His cock was drooling against the pillow, making a wet patch where Stiles was trying to rub himself, but Derek was keeping him in a way that he couldn’t find pleasure with his stilted movements.

Derek pushed his face further in Stiles’ ass, his tongue slipping deeper, sloppier and hungry. It was like Derek was trying to taste as much of Stiles as he could. Stiles lost himself in the sensation, letting Derek guide him in a place where there was just pleasure, just them, Derek’s filthy noises as he ate him out and Stiles breathy moans as he took it. When Derek’s right hand left his hip and a finger slipped in alongside Derek’s tongue Stiles almost came.

“Derek, fuck,” he found himself saying brokenly. Derek acknowledged him just by licking harder, pushing his finger further in. Derek’s other hand followed the first one, pushing in a finger and stretching Stiles from the other side, giving Derek a way to push his tongue in more and suck.

Stiles could feel himself clenching and unclenching around Derek’s fingers and without the restraint of his hands on his hips, he pushed back against his face, fucking himself on his tongue and fingers.

“Der-ah!” Stiles yelped when a hit of fangs appeared, Derek’s tongue circling his rim and liking the skin stretched around his fingers, fang catching on the red, puffy skin, “Derek, fuck me please, fuck me,” Stiles keened, and Derek growled on his skin.

“Not today, Stiles,” Derek told him, slipping another finger in and aiming for his prostate, “Now I want you to come just from my fingers and my tongue alone, con you do that for me, babe?”

Derek hadn’t given him the time to answer, now two fingers of each hand stretching him open, brushing in and out of him and alternatively tapping his sweet spot, his tongue licking sloppily all around, peeking inside, lips sucking the stretched skin. Stiles was leaking so much he wondered if some come would remain for when he came.

He was ripped forcefully from that incoherent thought when Derek pushed his fingers in harshly, all of his fingertips pressing against that bundle of nerves that made him see stars. Derek fucked his tongue into Stiles quickly, spearing him with that little muscle as he came forcefully, thick ropes of come spurting from his hard, aching cock. He arched up, fisting Derek’s air and pushing himself even more against him, riding his orgasm as he fucked himself on those amazing fingers and tongue. He came so hard he saw white, his eyes falling shut and his whole body shuddering, clenching around Derek, as come painted his stomach and chest.

He fell forward, dirtying the sheets with his own come, his limbs shaking and his head fuzzy. Derek was still eating him out and he whimpered in oversensitivity, tiredly trying to push him away. Derek understood and with a last open-mouthed kiss on Stiles quivering hole, he came back up, rolling him around, so he could pull him to his chest and wrap his arms and legs with Stiles’.

Stiles pulled Derek’s body tightly against his, still trembling with the intensity of his orgasm, his breathing laboured as he tried to regain control of his spent body. After a few minutes he felt Derek’s hardness pressing against his stomach and he reached down to at least jack him off. Derek had made him come so good, he wanted to reciprocate at least like that right now. He was going to give Derek an amazing orgasm too, just not now, because now he was so sated and sleepy he couldn’t do more than give him and hand job.

Apparently though, Derek wasn’t of that opinion, because he stopped Stiles’ hand before he could wrap it around him. The wolf pinned his wrist against the pillows once again, and sat on Stiles’ thighs.

“I don’t think I can go for another round,” he said to him, smiling sleepily and running slowly his hand on his thighs. Derek’s length twitched when he scratched him lightly with his fingers, and Stiles’ mouth watered at the thought of sucking him off.

“Not my idea,” Derek said, as he took hold of his own dick, “I’m going to come all over you, cover you in my scent even more,”

Stiles moaned at the sight. Derek was beautiful, the muscles of his thighs strained as he kept himself up, hand stroking his cock fast, the other placed beside Stiles’ head to keep him up as he jacked off fast.

“Wait,” Stiles said, stopping his motions.

“What?” Derek rumbled, hands circling the base of his cock to stop his orgasm.

“Come here,” Stiles moved his legs on one of Derek’s shoulders, pulled him against him, his body bent under Derek’s. He reached between his thighs smirking, grabbing Derek and placing him in the channel of warmth they provided, “Come on, fuck my thighs, come all over me,”

Derek growled low and aroused, and started fucking Stiles’ thighs in earnest. Stiles did his best to squeeze his muscles around the hard length, to make Derek moan and come all over him. It wasn’t long before Derek covered him  completely, bending to reach Stiles’ mouth and give him a searing kiss.

Stiles moaned into his mouth, one hand tangling into Derek’s hair to bring him closer, the other on his back, racking his nails along his spine, right on the triskele between Derek’s shoulder blades. Derek shuddered violently and came on Stiles’, a moan mixed with a growl ripped from his throat as he rode his orgasm fucking shallowly his thighs, smearing come on them, on Stiles’ stomach and on Stiles’ spent cock, that had twitched in interest more than once as Derek chased his release.

Derek moved Stiles’ legs so he could drop down on him. Stiles chuckled, kissing Derek’s temple as he carded his fingers in his hair. Derek just wrapped his arms around him, sighing contently, and Stiles hummed happily.

He moved lightly, so that Derek was just half on top of him, as he kept caressing his back and hair, lulling him to sleep. Stiles’ eyes were barely open, but he reached out to get his phone that he had placed earlier on the nightstand.

He had a message from Scott, asking him how things were going. He tapped around and took a photo of him and Derek, and with half-lidded eyes, he sent it, adding a ‘Blissed out and happier than I could ever be.’

He would check Scott answer in the morning, now he just wanted to snuggle with Derek and sleep. He couldn’t even care if he was covered in come, he would wash it tomorrow. He pushed aside the covers with the help of a very sleepy Derek, and they slipped underneath and fell asleep with big, sated smiles on their faces.

***

Derek woke up the next morning to Stiles’ panicked heart. He sat abruptly on the bed and Stiles’ horrified eyes caught his.

“What happened?” he asked worried, reaching out to grab Stiles’ hand. He was relieved when Stiles grasped him back, not refusing his touch. At least he was sure Stiles wasn’t regretting anything that had to do with them.

“I think I sent a photo of us to the wrong person yesterday night, when I meant to send it to Scott,” Stiles said warily, turning his phone towards Derek.

Derek eyes softened when he saw the photo of them lying sated and happy, their bodies marked by the other. They widened in horror though, when he noticed to whom the photo had been sent.

The name ‘Sheriff Daddy-o’ stayed there even after he blinked his eyes a couple of times in hope that he had just read wrong. A strangled sound came out of him when the message was replaced by a photo of the Sheriff with Stiles, his ID bigger on the screen as Stiles’ phone started vibrating with the call.

Thanks to the equality given by their bond, now they were both equally screwed.


	24. 5.4 - I think we might have a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, it's short, but I hope you'll enjoy it :)

“Hi Dad?” Stiles’ voice was a little unsure as he answered his father’s call.

“Don’t ‘Hi dad’ me Stiles. Explain,” his father’s harsh voice came from the other side, “Now.”

“There’s not much to explain,” Stiles said, “It happened.”

“You told me there was nothing going on last week.”

“Because there was nothing going on when you asked me last time,”

“Stiles” even though Stiles couldn’t see his dad’s face, he could imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “You told me you were just sharing a room, not that you were together. I already told you I haven’t any problems with you dating boys, but Stiles, this is complicated, even leaving aside the age gap, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s true,” he said, “When we talked on Monday, there was nothing going on between us. Now there is, and I have to say that it was long overdue. Even you know I’ve liked Derek for a long time,” Stiles glanced at the werewolf that was still next to him on the bed, blushing lightly, “And he likes me too dad. I know you worry about me, but this is my choice. He’s not going to hurt me in any way, he never has.”

“I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions, that doesn’t mean that I like them anyway,” his voice was still angry, but it seemed more irritated than really angry, “And he better not hurt you, because I have wolfsbane bullets, and I’m not afraid to use them,”

“Well, like it or not, you got to accept it,” Stiles voice was firm now, his eyes rolling at his father threat, “We already talked about it, and we are going to give it a shot,” he paused, not wanting to talk to him about the mate situation over the phone.

“I still don’t like it,” his dad stated, “You’re so young and-”

“When we get back we will have more to discuss, with you and the rest of the pack,” Stiles interrupted him, and sighed, dreading a little the conversation to come, “but for now all I can say to you, it’s that I’m happy and that I’m not changing my mind about this.”

“Stiles, you can’t think this conversation it’s over,” his dad said, “If Derek is listening, I want him to know that the first thing he has do to when you two get back, is come to dinner, because we have a lot to talk about,”

“You don’t even imagine, dad,” Stiles mumbled, “Anyway, Derek will come to dinner, but guns or anything that has to do with wolfsbane is banned from the house, no complaints,”

“We’ll see,” his dad said, but from his voice, Stiles already knew that for now he was okay with it.

“Well, I’m going to hang up now, I need to get ready,” Stiles said even if he knew it was still early, wanting to cut this short, “We are going to the zoo today,”

“All right,” his dad said, “Have fun, all of you,”

“Thanks dad,”

“And Stiles?”

“Yeah?”

“Next time check before sending your texts,” his voice seemed slightly amused, even if he was still a little angry with Stiles, “I would appreciate if you spared me to see you in certain situations,”

“Daaad,” Stiles groaned, covering his face with his hands, not wanting to think about what his father had thought about that photo, “Got it, I’ll be careful. Bye now,”

“Bye Stiles,” he said, “Say hi to Derek and the others for me,”

“Of course, thanks dad, bye,” Stiles said with a small grateful smile, and with a last goodbye from his dad, they hung up.

“That wasn’t so bad, right?” Stiles asked after a moment of silence, looking at Derek sheepishly.

“Yeah, better than I expected anyway,” Derek replied, reaching out to him but stopping right before touching his hand, “Are you all right after telling him?”

“Yes,” Stiles said, grabbing Derek’s hand and entwining their fingers, sitting closer to him, “I feel a little relieved right now, I know he’s going to come around. He’s just playing though right now,”

“Well I hope he is,” Derek said, dragging Stiles down on the bed again and snuggling with him, “I’d like to be able to be like this with you when we go back home,”

“You will,” Stiles responded, his hands caressing Derek’s hair when the werewolf rested his head against his chest, continuing softly, “I want it too. I want this and even more, and that means that this is going to be something long-term,”

“That’s all I wish right now,” Derek said, stroking his face against Stiles’ bare chest, his scruff scraping and making Stiles’ shiver, “That and to sleep a little more,”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Stiles said chuckling lightly, curling around Derek more and trying to get as much as skin contact as he could, “Let’s snuggle, sleepywolf,”

Derek mumbled something that Stiles couldn’t understand, but it didn’t matter because Derek was cuddling closer to him, hugging Stiles’ waist and nosing along his sternum with a satisfied grumble.

And Stiles? Stiles was more than happy to have him all over himself, so he wrapped his other arm around him and kept stroking his head until they both fell asleep again.

***

When they woke up again, after sharing a few kisses they got ready and joined the others to go to the zoo.

The place was big and full of people and laughter. There were a lot of animals to see, and Stiles wanted to see them all. He and Derek spent the whole time hand in hand, sharing kisses now and then and bearing the teasing and cooing from the rest of the pack.

They saw the butterflies and Stiles looked in astonishment as a few of them sat on Derek’s shoulders and one flied right on his extended finger, the werewolf looking at them in awe. Stiles fell a little bit more for him, for the soft smile that was stretching Derek’s lips.

They saw monkeys of every kind, various birds, penguins, the aquarium and the reptile house, the lemurs, the giraffes and the zebras, the owls and the nightlife and rainforest exhibits. They left for last tigers and lions and Stiles loved the majestic creatures. He would have loved to pet them, but he didn’t want to lose a hand. Derek growled quietly when the male lion roared in his direction and Stiles laughed when the beast lowered his head in acknowledgment of Derek.

They all spent an amazing day together, enjoying each other’s company, laughing and chatting.

The only problem was that Stiles felt strange. After he had woke up a second time he was fine, but as he got ready for the day a strange feeling crept inside him, and he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. And mostly, to what he owed it.

It was something that he felt deep in his core, a rumbling feeling with no name. It was like a strange wave and he couldn’t understand if it was something bad or not. It felt like something was building, as if it was getting ready for something. He didn’t knew what, but it scared him a little. He had the strange sensation that it was something that had to do with all the weird things happening around the Nemeton, even if Scott had told him that mostly everything was all right.

Apparently in the last days other that the human population of Beacon Hills, some of the supernatural folks had found themselves attracted by the tree, ending up there without even noticing, sitting near the tree with a hand placed on his roots. Scott had told him that it wasn’t emanating any kind of wrong feelings, though, so Stiles was a little reassured by it. The fact that even Deaton had told him that his druidic magic wasn’t bothered by it made Stiles more at ease, but with this nagging feeling he wasn’t completely calm anyway.

He resolved to call Scott as soon as they were back at the hotel, and now just enjoy the rest of the evening with his pack and his mate. They were heading for a sunny spot in the park, to lay there and spend a little time just lazing out in the warmth before going back.

They spread out on the grass, a few blankets they had took with them to lay on, and Stiles let him mind wander as he listened to the noises and voices around him, lulling him into an almost-sleeping state. Derek’s fingers were carding through his hair, his eyes closed at the gentle brush that was calming him even more, the strange feeling from before fading in the back of his mind, like an always present undercurrent.

 

_Stiles was sitting at the feet of the Nemeton, chatting with someone he didn’t knew, someone he couldn’t see, but that he knew was connected to him in some kind of way. He caught glimpses of this person. Dark hair, clear eyes and a warm familiar smile, but he couldn’t say where he had already saw it._

_The big tree was casting a pleasant shadow over them, shielding them from the harsh summer sun and Stiles stretched, laying down on the grass as he kept talking with the woman. She was telling him memories of her past, tales about full moon nights and runs around the woods, her voice soft and nostalgic. Stiles put his hand on her knee, comforting her with a smile as he shared stories of his childhood with her, talking about things he did with his mother he thought he had almost forgotten._

_Suddenly he was on his feet, the full moon bright on the sky, no one with him and the Nemeton proud and in full bloom in front of him._

_The tree was glowing in a soft almost golden light, and Stiles felt the vibrations of magic emanating from it, tingling on his fingers and spreading a warm feeling through his limbs, reaching his core and settling there in a that rumbling feeling._

_Stiles stepped forward, his hand already extended towards the tree, his magic floating around him and telling him to touch it, to give the final push. Stiles wasn’t sure that was a good thing, but he found himself taking the last steps anyway, his palm connecting with the bark of the tree, flat against it. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then, on his own, his magic pushed towards the tree and Stiles, as everything in the clearing, glowed of a bright white-golden light._

Stiles sat up abruptly, dislodging Derek’s hand from his hair and breathing harshly. The thrum in his core was fierce now, his magic curling and uncurling inside him.

The others were watching him, but he didn’t knew what to say. Derek placed a hand on the small of his back, and Stiles closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth and calming feeling that the touch gave him.

“Stiles?” Lydia’s voice was shaky and worried, tentative as she pronounced his name.

“Yeah?” his voice wasn’t better than Lydia’s, even more shaky as the images from the dream flooded through him again and again.

“Are you all right?” Allison asked, her voice more steady but laced with worry nonetheless.

“I think,” he breathed, “Yes, I’m fine. I just,” he paused again, “I just had a very strange dream and there’s this nagging feeling I’ve felt all day and now is even stronger,”

“What was the dream about?” Derek asked as he settled behind Stiles, wrapping his arms around his middle as his legs rested next Stiles’. He leaned back, getting his breathing back to normal, trying to get his heart to follow Derek’s heartbeat.

“I was talking with a woman,” he said, trying to keep the dream in his mind before it faded completely and mixed with his thoughts, “I didn’t knew her, I couldn’t see her properly, just her hair, her eyes and her smile. She was telling me something about her childhood and I tell her something about mine, but I don’t remember what. We were sitting at the feet of the Nemeton, then suddenly was night and I was there alone, in front of the tree, magic pulling me to it until I touched it.”

“That’s when you woke up?” asked Peter seriously.

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head, “Nothing happened for a few seconds then my magic, it was like it pushed towards the tree, focusing where my hand was touching his bark and then all was lit with this white-golden light, and it felt good but it was so overwhelming that I woke up,”

“You smelled like fear,” Derek said, tightening his arms around him, “If the feeling was good why you were scared?”

“Because I didn’t knew what was happening,” he answered softly stroking Derek’s hand to calm him, “I’m not too keen with magic around the Nemeton and, even if it was just a dream, probably my subconscious registered it like something wrong,”

“I’m not entirely sure it’s just a dream,” Peter said.

“What do you mean?” Stiles’ eyes focused on him sharply.

“I dreamt about the Nemeton too lately, just once.”

“Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Because it wasn’t a pleasant dream,” he said, averting his eyes, and breathing deeply before continuing, “I dreamed about the whole pack there, and there was someone else with you, but I felt guilty being there. It was a conflicting feeling, because I knew I belonged with you, but at the same it was like I didn’t deserve it. I remember sitting on the far corner of the clearing, watching all of you laughing, while this feeling clawed at me from the inside, and then as someone called me to join you and I stepped forward, I woke up.”

“I dreamt about it too,” Allison interjected before the others could say anything, “It was like Peter’s dream, without the guilt part though. We were all there, chatting at the feet of the tree like nothing was wrong, and then I just woke up,”

“It was almost the same for me too, but I thought nothing wrong of it, so I said nothing,” Lydia said, and Parrish nodded next to her.

“You too, Derek?” Stiles asked, turning slightly towards him.

“Yes,” he answered, and Stiles turned more to watch him, “I dreamt of all of us there, my pack, my family. But it wasn’t just that. It was more. Not just the sense of family that pack can give you, like having all of you safe and happy does, it was like I really had my family back, or at least part of it,” he stopped, a rush of air sending shivers down Stiles’ spine as he exhaled, “I don’t know how to explain it properly,”

“I don’t know what to think of this,” Stiles said, “We all dreamed about the Nemeton, all of us in different ways. It seems to me that something is probably going to happen, but I don’t find in me the need to worry. This strange thing that I feel inside, it’s like,” he paused, searching the right words, “It’s like a warning that something is going to happen, yes, but not something bad. More like something we can be happy about, if that makes any sense when talking about the Nemeton,”

“Do you think we should go back earlier?” Derek asked worriedly.

“No, I don’t think so,” Stiles said in a pensive voice, “I’ll call Scott when we get back to the hotel and see if they had these dreams too and if everything is all right,”

“But,”

“No buts, Derek,” he said firmly, “Scott would’ve called right away if something was wrong,”

As soon as the words were out of Stiles’ mouth, his phone started to ring. He glanced at the others as he took it out of his pocket and his eyes widened a little as he saw Isaac was the one that was calling him.

“Hey Isaac,” he answered, “What’s up?”

“Hey, hi, Stiles,” Isaac’s voice was wary as he greeted him and Stiles felt a prickle of panic raise in him, “I think we have a problem.”

Stiles looked back at the others, and then stood up, walking away and casting a spell to prevent them from hearing. He was sure it was best if he knew before them. He looked harshly at Derek as he made to walk to him, and the werewolf sat again, scowling deeply. He breather, turning around so they couldn’t see his face.

“I’m listening.”


	25. 5.5 - Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter! I hope it's not too messy to understand, as always I shift pov's, but I try to delineate it with the *** so it shouldn't be too confusing! Not always the *** are for pov shifting, I use them to separate moments sometimes, I really hope it's not too intricate.  
> Anyway, hope you like it :)  
> Have a nice week!

“I don’t know exactly where to start,” Isaac said to him, “Scott already told you about the Nemeton right?”

“Yes,” Stiles said, “But nothing was wrong with it the last I heard from him,”

“Yeah, and we’re not sure something is wrong now either,”

“What do you mean?”

“The Nemeton has cocooned himself in a ball of white-golden light,” Isaac explained, “It doesn’t feel threatening, but we don’t know, and Scott told me to tell you as soon as I got home and told the others. He is there with Cora and Chris to keep an eye on it, we are still taking turns but now three at the time,”

“That’s good, better be more than less since we don’t know what’s happening,” Stiles stated, nodding to himself, “Listen, Isaac, have you dreamed about the Nemeton in the past days?”

“Actually, yeah,” Isaac said hesitantly, “I know the others have too, but they were innocuous dreams so Scott thought that it wasn’t worth bothering you about it. Now I’m not so sure.”

“We all dreamt about it too, I just dreamt about it and discovered the others have too in the past days,” Stiles said, his hand running quickly through his hair, “But I still don’t know what it means. I get the fact that it doesn’t feel threatening though. I have this feeling nagging me all day, but I can’t quite place it. It’s not unpleasant, but the fact that I don’t know what it is, it’s really a pain in the ass,”

“I feel it too, it’s faint though. I think you feel it more because you’re our emissary and you’re bonded to the land deeply than us.” Isaac said, and Stiles agreed with him, “I think Derek must feel like you though, since he is the Alpha,”

“Yeah, I’ll ask him,” Stiles replied, “We were all talking about it when you called me, so I didn’t have the time to make questions,”

“All right, I’ll let you know if something changes here,” Isaac told him, “But for the moment we can’t do nothing but wait. Try to keep Derek from coming back here running, please,” he joked.

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Stiles snorted in amusement, “But, Isaac, let me know if there’s any change, even the smallest one, whatever time is here or there, okay?”

“Yes, of course,”

“Good,” Stiles breathed, a little relieved, “Talk to you soon, then,”

“Yeah, bye Stiles, say hi to the others from me,”

“Consider it done, bye Isaac,” he hung up and turned to face the other with a small smile, hoping that it would calm them seeing him like that, and walked back to them.

“So,” he said, dropping down to sit next to Derek, “Isaac called to inform us that the Nemeton has cocooned itself in some sort of white-golden light, but,” he added, raising his hand to stop any argument, “there’s no need for us to go back, since they’ve got everything under control.”

“Why did you cast a silencing spell around you?” Derek asked still scowling.

“Because,” Stiles said, turning his face to him with a small smirk, “I knew that if you heard at the same time as I did, I wouldn’t have been able to stop you from impulsively buying plane tickets to go back,”

“But we need to go back as soon as possible.”

“No, Derek, we don’t,” Stiles said, placing a hand on top of Derek’s, “They are doing more than fine managing this, and Isaac promised that he would call at any minuscule change,”

“But I-“

“We will be back in a few days anyway, and we still have to sign the treaties with the Clarke’s pack and the hunters,” Stiles told him.

Derek didn’t replied but seeing how distressed he looked Stiles added, “Listen, if by tonight you are still convinced we have to go back, I’ll book the first tickets for me and you to go back,” Derek nodded at his words, squeezing his hand gratefully.

“Why just for you two?” Lydia asked suddenly.

“Because that way you guys could continue your vacation,” Stiles told her looking at her with a confused face, “I don’t think it’s needed for all of us to go back, but I don’t want him going back alone either, so,”

“If you go back, I need to come with,” Lydia said sternly.

“Why?”

“Because,” she stopped, shaking her head, “I don’t know Stiles, it’s just that…I need to.”

“All right,” he caved, trying not to think about the spark of fear that Lydia’s words had lit in him, “You guys, what do you want to do?” he asked looking the others.

“I’m fine staying here for the rest of the week,” Peter said, “You could sign the treaty with Danae at dinner and Allison will take care of the one with the hunters, if she agrees to stay here.”

“Yes, I think it’s a good idea,” Jordan said, “I’ll stay too, you Ally?”

“No problems for me,” she answered nodding, “The treaty proposal is almost ready, one for us and one for the Clarke’s pack, and for what I’ve already seen, they all seem good people,”

“Fine, fine,” Stiles said, “I’ll look for tickets for three then, but for now I think you,” he pointed at Derek, “should call Danae to ask her if they are free tonight to have dinner and sign the treaty, tell her we might have to go back to Beacon Hills earlier,”

“Yeah, I’ll call her right away,” Derek told him, standing up a taking out his phone. He walked a few steps away and started talking. Stiles exhaled deeply looking back at the others, and then flipped on his back, his arms pillowing his head as he stared at the sky.

He breathed deeply a few times, trying to get a grip to his frenetic thoughts. He had tried to be as calm as possible while talking to Derek, but he wasn’t completely calm himself. And the fact that Lydia felt the need to go with them if they went back, added to his worries. She seemed not to know why, and Lydia not knowing the reason of her own behaviour or choice was something completely unusual. He didn’t want to worry Derek more than necessary, so tried to put aside all the worrying thoughts until Scott or Isaac called again. He had nothing to work on at the moment, nothing more than a few suspicions, but he wouldn’t do any good to get worked up about it if he really hadn’t any sure lead.

A puff of hair near his folded arms told him that probably Derek had sat back next to him again. The hand that stroked his hair a few seconds later confirmed his theory, and he relaxed a bit more under the touch.

“Danae said it’s all right to meet for dinner,” Derek said, “She, Jon and Remus are going to come at the hotel and we’ll have room service, so that we can talk more freely, it’s safer doing it there,”

“You want us to have dinner outside?” Peter asked.

“I won’t force you to leave if you don’t want to,” Derek said, calmly, “But even though this is pack matter, it should be just the Alpha and the emissary present, and of course the Alpha’s mate if he as one.”

“And you have yours all wrapped in one package,” Stiles said, grinning wickedly up at Derek.

“Yeah, just my luck,” Derek answered, grinning back at him and shaking his head.

“Getting back to our presence during dinner,” Lydia said rolling her eyes in amusement, “We can eat at the hotel’s restaurant and stay in the lounge for drinks until you finish,”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Derek said nodding, even though Stiles could see how he was sorry for practically banning them from their room.

“What about the meeting with the hunters?” Allison asked.

“She said that for her there’s no problem if you act as a warrantor for our pack and hers too,” Derek told her, “She said that of course she’ll attend the meeting, but she trusts you knowing what would be best to accept or refuse. I suggest maybe you and her talk about what you expect from this treaty with them, so she can already tell you what would be inacceptable or okay to her pack or what they might want to compromise about,”

“I’m really thankful she trusts me like that,” Allison said, blushing slightly, “And even more that you do, Derek. I’ll make this pact something solid and good for both parties. Tonight if there’s the chance I’ll ask the Alpha Clarke if she’s available for a meeting with me tomorrow,”

“Thank you, Allison,” Stiles said and Derek nodded at her with a small smile. She smiled back at them and Stiles was really proud of how her relationship with Derek had mended and progressed during the years.

“We should go back,” Jordan said, stretching, “It’s getting late and I’d like a shower before dinner,”

“Me too,” Lydia agreed and they all got up slowly. They walked to the nearest Golden Tours bus stop and got back to the hotel, ready for another full evening.

***

Derek noticed that Stiles wasn’t completely relaxed after their conversation and the call with Isaac, but he didn’t point it out anyway. He knew he was trying to keep a brave front until they had more news, but after all these years he knew him a little, and he could easily see how the anxiousness was creeping up on him.

He held his hand the whole ride back to the hotel, pointing out irrelevant things as they went, trying to keep him distracted enough. He knew that it was a big possibility that if Stiles started to think too much about what might happen, he would get a panic attack and Derek wanted to avoid it at all costs.

Now they were in their room, and Stiles was in one of the chairs near the windows, his fingers tapping a mindless rhythm. Derek crawled behind him, making space to sit him between his thighs. He grabbed his hands and entwined their fingers, leaving a kiss on top of his head. Stiles’ rested his head on his chest, looking up at him with a wry smile.

“Is it that obvious?” he asked quietly.

“Not that much,” Derek told him, just as hushed, placing another kiss on his head, this time on his forehead, “It’s just that we share a more profound bound.”

Stiles started giggling at that, and Derek didn’t understand why, so he furrowed his brows and nipped at his earlobe. Stiles yelped a little, still giggling, but smiled at him brightly and kissed his lips softly.

“God, I’ll remember you saying this sentence for the rest of my life,” he said and started giggling again.

“Why?” Derek asked confused, his cheeks heating up as he buried his face in Stiles’ neck.

“Oh, it’s nothing, I’ll tell you when it’s the time,” Stiles told him, his hand going to caress Derek’s hair, “But it’s something that makes me really happy, aside from all the laughing,”

“More like giggling,”

“I wasn’t giggling!” Stiles said protesting with a barely kept laugh, the hand that wasn’t buried in Derek’s hair pinching his thigh.

“Oh, you so were!” Derek retaliated with letting his fangs drop and biting jokingly at his jugular.

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles said with a sharp breath, and a faint smell of arousal hit Derek’s nostrils, “But it was a very manly, adult giggle,” he stated, with mocking seriousness.

“Of course it was,” he said, repeating the action and biting along the column of his throat with more intent. He knew they hadn’t enough time to do something, but he wanted to tease him a little, to leave him wanting for more. If things went well, maybe tonight they could take the next step in their relationship.

Sure, it was still early since this had become somewhat official, but Derek thought that after years of waiting by both parties, it was time. In the past few days, they had behaved themselves. Mostly. He knew that rushing this wasn’t the right way to go, but with Stiles everything had always felt so right that he couldn’t wait to know how becoming one with him would be. He usually didn’t care about who was on top and who on bottom, but he had the need to claim Stiles before they got back to Beacon Hills. If they had to go back earlier than planned, he needed to do it even more, because he had to convey to Stiles he wanted this and there wasn’t better way for him than that. Sure, giving himself to Stiles was a good way, too, but he hoped that his mate would understand that for him this had a different meaning, something primal in a way. They had to talk about it before, but Derek hoped that Stiles would say yes.

Right now though, wasn’t the time to be thinking about it, because in less than half an hour Danae, Jon and Remus will be there and Derek wanted to explore Stiles thoroughly today, not have something quick. It would be appreciated anyway, but today he wanted more, in every way.

Probably it was the Nemeton’s fault, the odd mix of feelings stirring inside him, but Derek had this urge of keeping him safe, protected and happy. It wasn’t as if the Nemeton had created the sensation, it was just something instinctive. He knew that at the moment there wasn’t any threat for Stiles, at least not one he could sense, but not knowing why the Nemeton was acting that way left his wolf in alert.

He left his thoughts aside, kissing all the exposed skin of Stiles’ neck and face, his hands slipping under his shirt to trail his fingers over soft, warm skin. Stiles was breathing quietly and shakily under his ministrations, almost purring when Derek’s fingers massaged his sides. He arched lightly into the touch, searching for more, but Derek kept it light, feather-light kisses and even, firm strokes on his skin. Stiles turned around, straddling his hips and sitting on Derek’s thighs.

He simply started to kiss him, soft and close-mouthed, one of his hands playing with the strands of hair at the base of Derek’s neck and the other placed right above his pulsing heart, skin to skin under Derek’s shirt. Derek wrapped his arms around him, his hands now roaming on the expanse of skin of his back. It was obvious that Stiles wanted more, but Derek stopped him every time he pushed a little bit too far.

“Slow down,” he whispered to his ear, amused by how impatient and frustrated Stiles’ smelled.

“No, no slowing down,” Stiles said against the skin of Derek’s neck, “This is good, we shouldn’t stop. No stopping,”

Derek nipped softly at his earlobe, chuckling at his frantic tone, and pushing him slightly away from him by settling his hands firmly on his hips. Stiles tried effortlessly to coax Derek into making out again, but what he got from Derek were just quick pecks and more chuckles.

“Dereek,” he whined, and Derek kissed him fully one last time before getting up with Stiles still on his lap, “Hey!” Stiles arms flailed around wildly before his hands grasped Derek’s shoulders tightly.

“We have to take a shower before the others arrive,” he said as his hands slipped from Stiles’ hips to his tights to keep him up.

“I had almost forgotten,” Stiles said with a groan and a roll of his eyes.

“Now we have two options,” he continued, walking slowly with his eyes fixed on Stiles’, “One is that I let you down and go take a quick shower,” he brushed his nose against his, “Or two, we can shower together and save some water in the process, even though it won’t save us time,”

“Oh, what a great ecologist you are, my wolf,” Stiles said laughing softly, “Worrying about water and all,”

“If you don’t want to, I’ll go alone,” Derek replied with a quick nip at Stiles nose.

“Oh, thrust me,” he said, rolling his hips forward with no subtlety, “I want to.”

Derek rolled his eyes and kissed him, walking towards the bathroom and thinking that maybe just a quick relief wouldn’t hurt his plans for tonight.

***

Danae, Jon and Remus arrived shortly after they got out of the shower. They came with groceries so they could cook and bond a little more, since probably Stiles and Derek would be going back in a few days. After  agreeing with the others on making a light version of pasta alla carbonara and a zucchini and prosciutto quiche, Derek excused himself to make a call. Stiles looked at him curiously, but he just smiled mouthing ‘Cora’ to him.

When he got to their room, he picked up the phone from the bedside table and called Cora. She answered a few rings later and Derek could sense that something wasn’t quite right from her voice. He asked but she told him that she was just worried about the situation. Derek could tell that she wasn’t lying, but the fact that she was so worried made him more anxious, but he tried not to let it show.

He asked her about the house, if it was coming along fine and how long she thought would take to have it done. She told him that it was practically ready, that she is going there every day for a few hours to check on the workers. The furniture will probably arrive tomorrow, and Derek is glad, because they’ll all have a place to go if more trouble is coming, and the way he has decided to build the house guarantees safety for everyone. Derek, with Cora and Peter’s help, decided the basic furniture for the common areas and their own rooms, leaving the pack’s rooms to their own choice. Of course they could add furniture in the common areas too, but Derek wanted them to feel at home, that was why he hadn’t chosen the room’s furniture for the others.

He was happy about this, because if something wrong was going to happens soon, he could say that at least one good thing had happened in their absence. The Hale house had been a pillar for their pack when Derek was younger, and now that he and Scott had reached this stability with their pack, he wanted to have something like that again. They weren’t as big as his mom’s pack had been, but they were enough that the house would feel full and homey, hopefully resounding with laughter and happiness.

He and Cora talked a little bit more, she updated him about the half of the pack in Beacon Hills and he updated her about the other half. After that, they said their goodbyes and Derek went back to the kitchen. He found Stiles laughing and chatting with the other three, chopping vegetables and fixing ingredients.

He joined them and they cooked and chatted, keeping a light mood before getting to more serious talks. They set the table in the small coffee table in front of the couches, sitting down on the soft carpet and filling their plates without a care in the world. Derek liked the fact that they had this strong bond with the other pack.

His mother had many allies and Derek wanted to recreate at least half of the connections that she had and even new ones if he could. This first one with the Clarke’s pack was the most important, because two members of his pack were under their protection.

After finishing their meal, they set all the dishes in the dishwasher and settled back on the couches to talk about their treaty. They had already delineated the focal points and now they were just going to discuss other possible things to adds to it. Stiles would then write it on his laptop so that they could print it and sign it, because Derek thought having a written and signed copy was better for both packs than just a handshake and their words that the treaty would be respected.

They talked for a long time, not just about what to write down or cut off, but also about the previous treaty they had. Danae had brought them a copy of it saying that Talia, like her son, thought that a written proof was better than just a handshake. Derek felt that his mother would proud of him for once, and the mention of her made him feel warm and grounded like it hadn’t happened in a long time.

He shifted to get closer to Stiles, which was sitting on the carpet once again; his laptop perched on his folded legs. He wrapped his legs around his torso, feet tucking under the outer sides of his thighs. He placed one of his hands on Stiles’ nape, fingers playing idly with the soft strands of hair there. Stiles hummed, leaning his head back on Derek’s touch but kept on writing what they were saying, adding now and then something of his own.

Around midnight they were finishing up, Stiles printed two copies each, they all signed and they were finished. Derek prepared another portion of dessert for everyone, while Stiles sent a message to the others so they could come back since it was getting late. When they arrived, Derek asked them if they wanted some too, and was met by a small chorus of assent. Now they were all sitting together, enjoying the chocolate ice cream with cookie dough.

Derek was now sitting in between Stiles’ legs, the need of contact strong and oddly out of place as he was listening to his pack talk about their dinner, eyes closed as Stiles’ hands roamed through his hair.

He felt it before it even happened.

A sharp pain went through his chest, and his eyes opened as he doubled over in pain. He heard Stiles’ phone ringing from the counter in the kitchen, and a few seconds later Allison’s one was ringing too. His eyes widened in fear, and the pain in his chest increased more and more as he struggled to breath. He was having a panic attack. Why was he having a panic attack? He was a werewolf he wasn’t supposed to have them. What if the Nemeton was playing with his werewolf powers and draining them, like it had happened before he could turn into a full wolf?

Derek’s mind was so full of negative thoughts that initially he didn’t even hear Stiles’ voice, then his arms were wrapped around his shoulders and he was whispering to Derek to follow his breathing, to count and try and synchronize their beating hearts. Derek tried, anchoring himself to him, holding him close and inhaling his scent as deeply as he could. He calmed down slowly, his breathing getting back to normal and the pain in his chest subsiding.

“Derek are you all right?” Stiles’ worried voice asked.

“Your phone,” Derek stuttered still fighting for his breath, without letting him go, “It’s ringing non-stop for the past few minutes,”

“Yes I know,” Stiles said, his hand soothingly running up and down Derek’s spine, “But it seemed more important to stop your panic attack. I didn’t knew werewolves could have panic attacks,” he added.

“Neither did I, but Stiles I need you to check your phone,” he looked him in the eyes now, “I think something happened back home.”

Now that Derek was calming down from his panic, he could smell Stiles’ barely contained worry. He must have felt something too, but his fear for him had pushed it aside, making him focus on Derek. Now though, Derek was alright and Stiles was starting to smell more and more of anxiety, fear, a flicker of pain and confusion. His face was scrunched up and the hand that wasn’t still stroking Derek’s back, was clutched on his shirt, at his heart’s height. Derek listened to it, but he was reassured to hear his normal staccato beat.

Derek could faintly hear Allison speaking in her room, but the door closed prevented him from knowing what she was talking about with whomever she was at the phone with. Her voice was hurried and scared, so Derek urged Stiles once more to check his phone.

His mate nodded a little frantically at him, but with a last swipe of his hand on his back, he got up and got his phone. Derek saw him scanning it quickly, his face becoming paler and paler, his eyes widening. He could smell how scared he was, and his wolf protective strike was coming out. Before he could do anything though, Stiles hurried to their room.

“Don’t come in unless I call you. Don’t listen.”

Stiles’ tone was serious and stern, and even though Derek was the Alpha, he settled back on the couch and resigned himself to wait without complaining. He knew that if he wanted he could listen what Stiles was saying without him knowing, but his mate had asked, well told him, not to and he was also the emissary of his pack, so Derek was going to follow his command. He slumped back on the couch, and his eyes met the worried ones of the others. He exhaled slowly, closed his eyes and sunk deeper into the cushions.

***

Stiles was trying not to let the panic get him. Right now, it wasn’t the moment. He needed to focus and make a spell to keep the others from eavesdropping, because the call he was about to make wasn’t one the others had to hear. He had to know everything before tell them, because his pack was extremely impulsive and he needed to be sure how much critical was the situation before storming to action.

He breathed deeply and focused on his magic, letting it flow out and raise the barrier that would prevent them from listening. After being sure that it worked, Stiles grabbed his phone, eyeing quickly his messages again to decide who to call to have the complete and quicker explanation.

It was a jumbled mess of angry messages at him not answering their calls, something about Scott being ill, about the fact that they needed him right away, but none of them explained anything to him. The majority of them was from Isaac, so he decided to call him.

“Stiles!” even not being a werewolf Stiles could detect how worried and panicked Isaac was.

“Isaac, what happened?” he asked quickly.

“It’s Scott, Stiles!” Isaac told him in a rush, “Tonight was his turn to be at the Nemeton and he apparently got there before Cora, and we heard him howl so we all run there, but, Stiles he was kneeling on the ground, bent over someone at the feet of the tree. We almost got to him but he collapsed a few seconds before we did,”

“Is he alright? He is fine, isn’t he?” Stiles asked, dread filling his lungs just thinking about what could have happened.

“He is alive,” Isaac assured him, “But he fainted a few seconds after we took him away from the Nemeton. But Stiles-” he paused, breathing shakily, “His eyes…”

“What about them?”

“They were glowing yellow,”

“What? He’s back to beta form?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Stiles could hear voices in the background while Isaac spoke to him, “Wait a second,”

A few murmurs that he couldn’t catch were exchanged, he heard someone sobbing and his father’s voice in the distance, and just waiting those few moments was killing him.

“Stiles, you still there?” Isaac suddenly asked, his voice now seemed astounded.

“Yeah, yes,” he told him, “What else happened?”

“She’s alive…she’s back” Isaac whispered, and Stiles almost didn’t hear him, “Scott sacrificed his Alpha powers because the power of the Nemeton that brought her back wasn’t enough to keep her alive,”

“Who’s alive?” Stiles asked, and the bad implications of Isaac’s words rolled around in his mind in panicked waves, especially when Isaac didn’t answer right away, “Isaac.” He said forcibly. “Who’s been brought back?”

Stiles’ eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath, he was glad he had put up that spell at Isaac’s shaky answer.

“Laura. The Nemeton has brought back Laura Hale.”


	26. 6.1 - It's time to go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I bet you thought I was dead, but no, here I am!! I'm really really sorry about this delay in publishing new chapters, but summer sucked out all my inspiration for this fic, especially as I was working on another on for an LJBigBang :) Soon I will publish that too, but now I'm back working on this one :)
> 
> I hope all those who were following this story will keep reading it, I really appreciate it and I'm really glad when you comment, leave kudos or even just read it :)
> 
> Thank you all for your patience, see you soon with a new chapter!

Stiles stood still with the phone still in hand even after the call had ended. He stared dumbly at the object in his hands, Isaac’s words whirling around his stunned brain.

How was he supposed to tell this to the rest of the pack? Cora was already there and she knew, but Peter? How would he react knowing that he niece, the one he had killed in his insanity was back to life? Especially after what he had told them about his dream.

And Derek. Oh, God, Derek was going to be impossible to handle. Stiles had to take him back to Beacon Hills without him knowing the gravity of the situation. Maybe he could tell him just about Scott. It would be a better thing, because he doubted that Derek would be able to stay calm for the whole trip back.

Oh fuck, the tickets.

Stiles breathed deeply and got out of the room.

“No questions.” He stated in the same firm tone from before and everyone looked at him with barely concealed fear, “I’ll explain in a minute,”

He grabbed his laptop and quickly typed in the address, the airline page appearing right away. He checked for the tickets that would bring them back first and found that the first available flight would be tomorrow night, at eleven, so they would be back in Beacon Hills around five in the afternoon, counting the car ride from the airport.

He sent a quick text to his father, asking him to let him know if he could manage to come pick them up. His dad answered right away, telling him that Isaac was going to get them. This time around, a minivan wasn’t needed, and Stiles sent Isaac the details of their flight so he make plans for the car with Melissa or Chris.

His fingers were going up and down on the keyboard at the speed of light as he typed all the information for their tickets, and he could feel all the eyes on him, so he tried to speed up the process even more. As he finished, he closed his eyes briefly, thinking if he needed to do something else right away.

He concluded that there was nothing else to do other than talk to the others. With a quick look to Allison, he understood that she knew, her father must have told her.

“Tomorrow night Derek, Lydia and I are going back to Beacon Hills,” Stiles said, his eyes fixed on Derek, “We’ll act as we planned earlier, so I’ll expect updates from you all daily,”

“What happened?” Danny and Jordan asked at the same time. Derek was just looking back at Stiles, waiting for answers and he could see that with every minute that passed without him answering, Derek’s worry was turning into anger.

“I’m still not sure if it’s something good or bad,” Stiles said, shaking his head lightly, “The only bad side of it for now it’s that Scott is a beta again, that’s why we are going back with the first available flight,”

“Stiles,” Derek said, and Stiles could hear the warning in his voice.

“I’m not going to tell you more than this right now,” he countered firmly, “You have to trust me it’s for the best.”

“I am your Alpha, and I demand to know,” Derek almost growled, standing up. Stiles stood too, placing himself in front of the angry wolf.

“Don’t bring that out,” Stiles scowled, “You know that if I’m not telling you know there’s a good reason. You should trust my decision, since I’m your emissary,”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, you aren’t yet,” Derek gritted out angrily, his fangs popping out.

It was like someone had punched Stiles’ chest. With how things had gone in the past week, Stiles already thought of himself as the emissary, and the others, especially Derek, had made him feel like it. Apparently, it wasn’t so for the Alpha.

He shut down completely and glared at Derek, willing the tears to not surface.

“Then you can find out by yourself, Alpha,” he threw out sharply, spitting out the last word with venom. He grabbed his phone and coat and stormed out of the room.

After the quick descent with the elevator, Stiles casted on himself an un-scenting charm, so that they wouldn’t be able to follow him by scent if they decided to go after him.

Stiles was so pissed with Derek. He had tried to do the best thing for him. Even being aware how much Derek hated not knowing what happened to his pack, Stiles wouldn’t have taken another decision. He muttered angrily about the stupid wolf, his hands shoved into his coat’s pockets.

Stiles shivered, checking the time on his phone and noticing it was just past two o’clock in the morning and he was roaming around in a city he didn’t knew. Luckily, he had learned the road around the hotel pretty quickly. He headed to Tooley Street and walked lost in his thoughts.

What could he do to make Derek understand that he could trust him? Stiles sighed sadly, thinking about the fact that he had probably just managed to gain an inch of Derek’s trust in the past few years and he shouldn’t be so surprised about it. What made everything even bitter though was the fact that they were mates. Supposedly, at least. At the moment, Stiles wasn’t really sure of anything.

He turned on Weaver’s Lane and found himself in front of the City Hall. He sat down on a bench, watching the river illuminated by the city lights. The Tower Bridge stood tall and imposing at his right, beautiful in the still night.

His anger had subsided now, turning into sadness. All the worry he had tried to push down earlier was resurfacing now and Stiles felt himself drown in it. What would happen to Scott now? Would he be all right? And Laura? Would she be okay? How Derek and Peter would react at her presence? What if she turned out evil? What if she didn’t want him to be the emissary, or worst, what if she didn’t wanted him to be with Derek.

Sure, no one could stand between an Alpha and his mate, but Stiles was sure that if Laura didn’t like him, Derek would put her before him. And he couldn’t even find in himself to be angry about it, because he knew how much Derek loved his sister, how much he missed her.

Some of the tears he was holding back, spilled out from his eyes and he felt the warm trace of them freezing on his cheeks. He wiped them away with the sleeve of his coat, his breath coming out in sharp puffs of white air. He sniffed, folding his legs on the bench and resting his chin on his knees.

“You plan on staying here to mope for much longer?” Lydia’s voice came from behind him, clear and unexpected in the silence of the night. It basically scared the shit out of him.

“Fuck, Lyds,” he scowled, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, “Warn a guy. You want me to have a heart attack?”

“Oh, stop it Stilinski,” she rolled her eyes, sitting beside him and placing a hand on his, her voice sweet now, “I came to bring you back to the hotel,”

“I don’t know if I want to,” Stiles said, and he sounded childish even to himself, but he couldn’t care less.

“Come on Stiles,” she shivered and he wrapped an arm around her, “I know Derek was an idiot, but you must know he didn’t meant it. Not really,”

“How can I be sure about that, it’s not like he’s wrong, you know,” he muttered, “I’m not the pack’s emissary officially, and I can’t blame him for remembering me that in a situation like this,”

“He regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth and you out of the door,” she said, “He wanted to run after you, but I thought it was better for the both of you to just calm down a little,”

“I can’t tell him all that is happened, Lyds, not yet, he would go nuts,” he rested his head atop her, “It’s his pack, his family we are talking about, and if he knew but couldn’t be there right away, I don’t know how he could react,”

“Yeah, I know, Ally told me” she nodded, “Just me though,” she hurried to say when he felt him tense.

“Oh, good then,” he exhaled in relief.

“We both agreed with you that it wasn’t good for him to know right now, but we didn’t wanted him to be the only who didn’t,”

“I imagine he took it well,” he said sarcastically.

“No, but Danny put him in his place,” she chuckled, “You should’ve seen it,”

“Danny?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah, Danny, can you believe it?” her amused voice making his lips twitch in a smile, “Derek was flashing his eyes at us, re-enacting his past self and trying to scare us. Danny stood up and flicked him on the nose, like he was a damn puppy,”

“What?” he asked with a strangled voice.

“I couldn’t believe it either, but it shut Derek up. He sat down astonished, and Danny lectured him. He told him that he really had hurt you with his words and if he were serious about being your mate, he should’ve trusted you,” she looked up at him, “You should’ve seen how he cowered at that. He felt guilty about saying those things before, but I don’t think it had sunk in until Danny told him,”

“He was worried about the others, it’s obvious he wasn’t thinking about it,” he mumbled sadly.

“Oh no, he was,” she pinched his thigh lightly, his eyes going to hers, “That’s why he was even angrier when we refused to tell him and sided with you,”

“He probably thought you weren’t being respectful to your Alpha, not that he had been a jerk to me,”

“Now you’re being stubborn just because you can,” she pinched him again, making him jump this time.

“Ow, that hurt! Stop it with the pinching,”

“If you stop it with the self-pity party,” she threatened, her fingers already on his thigh once more, “Derek is really worried about you. He was a jerk, that’s sure, but you know how he gets for his pack. We are the family he built after he lost almost all of his, and when he doesn’t know what’s happening to any one of us, his Alpha side comes out,”

“Yeah, you can bet it came out, just not like it should’ve,”

“It came out scared and hurt, and that made him go back to his, angry, sour self,”

“He’s such a sourwolf,” Stiles felt his sadness slip away as he said it, and a sweet smile spreading on his lips.

“Ready to go back now?” Lydia asked, “’Cause I’m freezing myself here, and I’m not planning on staying here the whole night to convince your stubborn arse,”

“Yeah, we can go,” he said standing up with her. They had just took a few steps when an idea came to Stiles, “Lyds?”

“Yes?” she asked, linking her arm into his.

“Tomorrow morning I need you to come with me. There’s something I need to do,” he said decided. Derek needed to know he wasn’t going anywhere, Emissary or not. Mates or not. Stiles would always be by his side.

“And you’re going to tell me what that is or I’ll have to wait?”

“You’ll have to wait,”

“Just because it’s you, Stilinski,” she told him with a smile.

They walked back to the hotel, and when they got on the elevator, Stiles started to feel the guilt and anxiety creep in.

“Do you think I can make myself invisible and go straight to my room?”

“I don’t think so, you’re barely standing on your feet to manage a spell like that,” Lydia smirked, “And by the way, you two share a room, in case you’ve forgotten. You’re lucky that I told everyone to go to their rooms, so you and Derek could talk alone,”

“You’re always a step ahead of everyone, darling,” he kissed the top of her head, “Thanks,”

The doors dinged and opened, showing the dim lit suite. No one was around and Stiles exhaled the breath he was unconsciously holding. They stepped inside and Lydia pushed him to his and Derek’s room, wishing him goodnight. The door was ajar and Stiles took a deep breath before entering and closing it softly behind himself, resting his back against it. He was afraid to look up and find whatever expression might be on Derek’s face.

***

He had felt more than hear Stiles coming back to their hotel with Lydia. The moment he was near enough Derek’s wolf sensed him, and he started pacing around the common area. The elevator was coming up quickly, Derek could hear it moving but couldn’t say if Lydia and Stiles were talking or not. He couldn’t sense if he was angry or sad, or just disappointed. Before they could arrive in the suit he fled to the room he shared with Stiles, trying to come up with something a little better than just ‘I’m sorry’.

His words had hurt Stiles, he was aware of it. Most of all he felt even more guilty because he hadn’t meant them, he was just trying to get Stiles to cave and tell him what happened. The only problem was that he had gone too far, snapped at him, saying something he knew had made Stiles worried and anxious in the past years.

Derek had trusted Stiles for a long time now, but what he had said might have ruined the progress they had made since they came here. He seriously hoped not, because his wolf was huffing and whining like he was wounded, just at the thought of having lost his mate.

He was so lost in his thoughts the he was a little surprised when he heard the door close softly and Stiles’ smell fill the air. His head snapped up, but he wasn’t met by Stiles’ eyes. The boy was resting on the door, his face turned down and his hands picking at invisible strands of his t-shirt.

He could smell anxiety, sadness and a faint trace of anger coming from him and he whimpered, his wolf’s emotions taking control and wanting to comfort his mate from what he himself had done. Stiles eyes came up at the sound, wide and surprised. Derek took a tentative step forward.

“I’m sorry, Stiles,” he said, looking down, “I didn’t meant what I said,” he told him, guilt keeping his eyes low, “I really trust you, it’s just…”

“It’s a lot to take in, being far from home and knowing that something isn’t all right but not knowing what…” Stiles quiet voice supplied, and Derek nodded, “But Derek,” he continued, “You can’t say you trust me but act like this. I get it, you are scared for your pack, but if you really trust me, you’d know my best interest is to keep them safe too…”

“I know that,” Derek mumbled, feeling a little like a scolded child, “That’s another reason why I’m apologising. You and I, being the Alpha and the Emissary,” he peered up at Stiles when he said it, noticing a slight tic of his lips, “Are the pillar of the pack, especially seeing our current relationship,” he cleared his throat, hoping Stiles wouldn’t correct him and say he didn’t want that anymore.

“Derek,” Stiles sighed and sat down on the bed, and Derek felt a shiver of fear run through him as he waited for Stiles’ next words, “You make me so confused,” he flopped down on the bed, “Come here,” he patted the bed next to him. Derek padded to the bed and sat down next to Stiles’ head, his hand itching to touch Stiles’ hair.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, “I didn’t meant to hurt you,”

“I know Derek,” Stiles murmured, and brushed his fingertips to Derek’s palm, “We have to work on this, on making this work for the pack’s sake and for ours too. I’m not saying that I wasn’t hurt from your words, because you know that is a weak spot for me, but I can forgive you. And you know why?”

“No…why?”

“Because that’s what couples do. And that’s what I want with you, be yours as you’re mine. We will fight and we’ll make up, cos’ you’re hot and you’re cold,” he chuckled, “But even though you’re forgiven it doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you get away with this easily, you sourwolf,”

“I wouldn’t let you,” he countered, finally giving in and burying his hand in Stiles’ hair.

“Good,” Stiles said, pushing his head against Derek’s hand like an overgrown cat, “Now I think it’s better if we go to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a tiring day…”

“Yeah,” Derek murmured with a last caress to Stiles’ hair, and then he got up and shed his clothes, just as Stiles did the same. They went under the covers, but Derek still felt on edge, knowing that he had to work for his forgiveness despite Stiles’ words. He wanted to cuddle Stiles and scent him and let him know how much he meant for him, but he wasn’t sure his mate wanted that.

“Keep me warm,” Stiles voice broke his indecision, long fingers wrapping around his and tugging him close to the other.

“I will,” Derek promised, spooning him from behind and covering the both of them. He kissed softly the top of Stiles’ head, “Good night Stiles,”

“Goodnight, grumpy,”

Derek smiled softly and turned off the lights, letting his hands roam on Stiles belly and arms, scenting him as much as he could.

“Derek?” Stiles whispered sleepily in the darkness.

“Yeah?”

“You believe I can do this?” he sounded so small as the words escaped his mouth, and Derek felt another pang of guilt. He never wanted Stiles to doubt himself, he was amazing and he should know that.

“I believe that no one could do it better than you, Stiles. The pack would be lost without you in it, and I’m not saying it just because,” he murmured against his ear, “I’m sorry for making you think I’d doubt your abilities or how much you care for us. I can’t promise it’s not going to happen again, but I promise I’m going to work on a filter for when anger and worry take control of me and make me say stupid things that hurt you,”

“Thanks,” Stiles body relaxed even more in his arms, his breathing deepening as he let himself fall into sleep.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered once more and he rested his nose just under Stiles’ hear, breathing in his scent and promising himself he would make everything in his power to make him feel perfect every day. He fell asleep to his sweet smell and the beat of his heart under his fingertips.

***

Derek woke up to the sound of Stiles rustling around their room.

“Ehi, morning,” he rasped out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Morning,” Stiles said back with a smile, “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up,”

“Don’t worry,” he sat up, and then noticed Stiles’ attire, “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, I’m heading out with Lydia for a few errands,” Stiles went to sit next to him as he put his shoes on, “And no, you’re not allowed to come. Today I want you to stay with the others and do wolfy stuff, Jackson and Danny especially, and we’ll be back before you can even roll your eyes,”

“Wolfy stuff,” Derek deadpanned, his eyes ready to roll.

“Yeah, wolfy stuff, you big bad Alpha,” Stiles said, and turned to him, “I want their Alpha to spend more time with them because we don’t know when we’ll be coming back next time,”

“Alright,” he conceded, and Stiles kissed him softly on the lips. Derek pulled him in back for some more before he could leave, and Stiles chuckled on his lips.

“Greedy wolfy,” he laughed, “I’ve got to go now, Lydia is waiting for me,”

“See you later then,” Derek told him and kissed him once more, standing up and going to the bathroom after Stiles was gone.

He relieved himself and then hopped in the shower, and thought about what he could do to make the last day here a little bit special for him and Stiles, despite the situation at home. He washed himself quickly, getting ready to spend the morning with his betas and trying not to think about what might be happening back in Beacon Hills.

Only Stiles and Lydia were missing, and Derek proposed to the rest of the pack to go out to have breakfast and maybe spend some time shopping and walking around. He didn’t feel like doing something too tiring, but he wanted to have a good time with them, and going around the city spoiling them a little bit seemed a good idea to him.

After a few minutes, they all went out and decided to have breakfast in a nice patisserie near Hyde Park, under Jackson’s advice. He and Danny had stayed the night at the hotel, rooming with Lydia and Allison, so they were already all together.

Derek treasured Stiles’ words and did the best he could to enjoy the time with his pack and be a good Alpha for them, asking advice about what he could do for his mate before they left. His betas were all more than happy to come up with cheesy and silly things, making Derek laugh and blush, his worries forgotten for a while as he basked in the affection and support of his family.

“I bet Stilinski would blush like a schoolgirl if you prepared a nice, romantic dinner in your room tonight,” Jackson was saying with a smirk, “He’s a sap and he likes this romantic shit,”

“Oh, shut up Jackson,” Danny intervened with an eyeroll, “ _You_ blushed like a schoolgirl when I did it,”

They all laughed as Jackson gasped and stuttered, a nice blush now colouring his sharp cheekbones. Derek was laughing too, but he supposed it wasn’t a bad idea. He had to organize it quickly though, since they had to be at the airport at least at nine and a half. He did the calculations in his mind, and came up with not enough time, even if it was just morning still. He checked his phone, and his eyes widened a little noticing it was almost noon.

“I don’t think we’ll have enough time for that,” Derek said.

“Why Hale? You got naughty plans for after?” Allison teased.

“I...” Derek felt himself blush once again and crossed his arms on his chest, “No, that’s not why,” he mumbled as the others laughed.

“You should just go on a walk with him,” Jordan suggested when the laughter subsided, “Get and icecream or something and wander around for a while, just the two of you,”

“Yeah, simple but nice,” Allison nodded.

“And you’ll have enough time for that,” Danny added, “You should go for one of the bridges and go back around to the hotel from there, the view it’s amazing and no one will notice or bother you if you’ll hold hands,”

“Or act more sickeningly lovey-dovey than you already do,” Peter commented.

“Mh,” Derek imagined it, and he found himself smiling fondly at the idea, “I think do with that, I just have to get back Stiles,”

“We should call them to see if they’re joining us for lunch too,”

“Yeah, that too,” Derek agreed, as he scrolled on his contacts to call Stiles.

***

“Have I told you recently that you are totally and completely nuts?” Lydia asked, still incredulous.

“No, no recently,” Stiles smirked as he opened the door for her, “But you said it enough times that it’s more a compliment than not to me,”

She punched his arm, but she was smiling as she exited the shop and got out in the busy street. Stiles followed her with a last wave at the man behind the counter, closing the door with a satisfied sigh. He was reaching for his phone when it started buzzing on his pocket and he smiled brightly as Derek’s grumpy face popped on the screen.

***

“Hey,” Derek greeted when Stiles answered the call.

“Hey to you,” Stiles voice said, “How are things going with the pups?”

“They’re going fine,” he chuckled at the scrunched up faces, “More than so, but I don’t think Jackson and Peter appreciate being called pups,” the others’ three pair of eyes widened at his words, but apparently they didn’t mind to much being called that since they were smiling happily.

“Oh, they’re just big, fluffy pups, even Peter,” Stiles said giddily, “And they know that, there’s no need to pretend they’re not,”

“Of course,” Derek said, laugh still in his tone, “They’re all our pups, right?”

“Exactly,” Stiles stated proudly.

“Oh stop it please,” Jackson grumbled, “Just ask him what we need to know and stop it,”

“Alright, alright,” Derek told him, “The pups,” he glanced again at Jackson with a smirk, “and I wanted to know if you and the pup that’s with you will be with us for lunch,”

“Yes, we just finished with our secret mission and we can meet somewhere to eat together,”

“Okay, where are you? So we can meet in the middle,” Derek said, hoping Stiles would give up their location and Derek could guess what their secret mission was.

“Oh, you tried slywolf, but I’ll have you know we are in Baker Street at the moment, heading for Oxford Street as we speak,” Stiles said smugly, even though they were still walking across Regent’s Park.

“You got me,” he said, defeated, “We’ll wait for you in Mayfair? At Scott’s?” he looked at the others and they all nodded to him.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Stiles agreed, “We’ll catch a bus and be there as soon as we can,”

“See you there, then,”

“Later hon,” Stiles told him with a laugh as they disconnected the call and Derek found himself laughing once again. It was amazing how much Stiles, or the thought of him, could make Derek smile or laugh.

When they would be back in Beacon Hills and everything that was going on was settled, Derek would do things right with Stiles. Take him out on dates, wine and dine him. Woo him properly, even though he didn’t even know where to start with it, but for Stiles he would try.


	27. 6.2 - Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Beacon Hills, what will happen now?
> 
> I hope there aren't any mistakes in it, but I didn't have any time to check, so sorry in advance :p
> 
> Other than that I just realized that the last part it's in a different verbal time than the rest. Well probably. I can't really focus right now to fix it with a 6yo kid talking non stop next to me, so I hope it's not too bad.  
> Being it a separate part it shouldn't be too much of a probem, so I'll probably leave it like that.
> 
> Tell me what you think about it please, I always need advice! (And a Beta :( )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> I'm really extremely sorry for being this late with updating, but all kind of things happened and I didn't have time to write.  
> I hope this chapter is good and you all (if you are still with me in this mission) will enjoy it!
> 
> Other than that I'm not gonna say I'll publish the next one soon, but I'm trying to finish it all and I'm almost done, so sorry again for this long wait :(  
> It's difficult to write when there's no time and when there's time there no muse or will to write. I like how this story bloomed by itself and I don't want to ruin it by writing when I don't feel like it, I hope you all can understand :)

They had a nice lunch full of laughter, which reassured Derek that everything would go well when they got back to Beacon Hills. He was even more reassured by Stiles’ continuous smirking at him.

Derek still hadn’t discovered where he had been that morning with Lydia. When he had tried to guess by smell, it hadn’t been possible. He could just smell faintly their scents mixed together, like Stiles was purposely trying to hide his smell from him. He had furrowed his brows at him for it, but Stiles’ reassuring smile and really nice kiss had Derek face turn to his normal broody self.

He was still curious about Stiles’ ministrations, sure, but the more he had tried to guess and the smugger Stiles’ grin got at his failed attempts. So he had stopped and enjoyed the rest of the meal with his pack, but Stiles’ grin had been there every time Derek had looked at him, fuelling his curiosity and impatience for when Stiles would finally tell him.

After lunch, they decided to go back to the hotel so Stiles, Derek and Lydia could take a nap before having a quick dinner with the pack and try to relax a little bit more. After that they would be going to the airport and fly the eight hours back to Beacon Hills during the night. Surely, they will have time to sleep during the flight, but since they will be back to America around 5pm, the more they slept before getting there the better.

Even though he had a really nice morning with everyone, when the afternoon came and they went back to the hotel, Derek couldn’t shake off the growing worry that bloomed again inside him. He went to his and Stiles’ room as soon as they got to the suite, murmuring something about taking a shower and avoiding the perplexed glances of the others at his hasty retreat.

As he closed the door behind his back, he heard Stiles murmuring something to the others and he was sure his mate was going to follow him in a few seconds. Like he predicted, he had just took a few steps in the room and there Stiles was, opening the door softly and peeking inside. He smiled sadly at Derek, almost as he had known already what he was feeling. Derek smiled back, and sat on one of the chairs with a sigh. He was starting to feel like the walls were too much of a confinement, even though he had been there not more than ten minutes now. Stiles socked feet padded through the room and Derek felt him behind himself before even seeing him, his hands reaching for Derek’s shoulders and kneading the flesh there.

Derek released a moan as he felt him muscles relax under dexterous fingers, and heard Stiles huff out a small, pleased laugh. He could almost imagine his eyes rolling fondly at him.

“So,” Stiles said, “Do you want to tell me why you hid here?”

“It’s nothing, really…” Derek tried to avoid talking about it, so relaxed at Stiles’ attentions that his eyes had slipped close and his head was falling onwards.

“If it was nothing you would’ve at least said something to the others instead of running here, you big sourwolf,” Stiles said in a light tone, and Derek knew he was teasing him to make him more comfortable. He gathered his thoughts and tried to find a way to say what was whirling around in his mind.

“It’s just…” Derek stumbled over his own words but Stiles waited for him, pushing his fingers deep in his muscles, “I don’t know, I felt fine until now, but as we were coming up here…I got anxious again. I don’t know what’s waiting for us, I don’t know if I can handle it. What if I’m not able to Stiles? What if I just make a mess again? We just got our pack back to stability. We are a family…you all are my family and I don’t want to lose that…I just can’t…Not again…”

“Derek…” Stiles voice was soft and broken as his name escaped his lips, and Derek felt himself crumble. One tear slid down his cheek and he wiped it away forcefully, but soon more followed, and he couldn’t take it. He stood up abruptly and stepped towards the bathroom but Stiles’ hand on his wrist stopped him. He tucked his chin in his chest, refusing to turn around and look at Stiles, to let him see this. He was an Alpha for Christ’s sake.

As always though, Stiles was more stubborn than Derek gave him credit for. He placed himself in front of Derek and forced his head up, and without saying a word, wiped off his tears with a reassuring smile. He laced his fingers with Derek’s then and moved towards the bed. When Derek didn’t move but just watched at their entwined fingers, he tugged him slightly. Derek followed and let Stiles take off his shirt first and then his trousers. The boy took off his own trousers too, but when Derek made a move to take off Stiles’ shirt, he just shook his head. Derek’s brow furrowed, but Stiles kissed him chastely on the lips and pushed him on the bed. He guided Derek to lay on his back and kissed him again, a quick peck once more.

“I’ll be right back,” he murmured on his lips, and Derek shivered, not knowing what Stiles was going to do, “Don’t move from here, please,”

He disappeared quickly in the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later without his shirt and a small bottle in his hand. Derek wondered if the reason why he hadn’t wanted Derek to take the shirt off of him had something to do with what he had done this morning, and judging by the smirk that crossed Stiles’ face, it was. Derek was still tense, worried and even a little embarrassed from his tears, but even feeling like that, his focus now was on Stiles. On how beautiful he was and how his senses filled of the amazing smell of his naked skin. With each step Stiles took towards the bed, Derek felt himself tense in a different way. Anticipation cursed through him as he watched him climb on the bed and straddle his thighs.

Stiles sighed happily when their skin touched and Derek couldn’t help himself from running his hands up and down the soft skin of his legs, from his knees to his hips. He let him do whatever he wanted for a bit, but then Stiles’ hands stopped his wandering ones and brought them on the bed. Derek quirked one eyebrow at him and Stiles just smirked.

“Trust me,” he said in a low voice, “I just want you to relax. Close your eyes and focus on me…”

Derek nodded, and closed his eyes almost instantly.

“Focus on my hands…” Stiles murmured and run his hands all over Derek’s chest, “On my breath and my lips,” he continued, his breath ghosting on the wolf’s jaw and his lips kissing the skin there, “On my tongue,” he flicked his tongue on his lobe, “and on my teeth,” he finished, with a playful nip on his chin.

Derek chuckled at that, but now his attention was really only on Stiles. Focused on his every move and on the scent of him surrounding them. It became stronger as the minutes passed, the pure scent of him mixed with hints of his growing arousal. Derek was already half hard just by having Stiles’ skin pressed on his, and now his scent and his touches were doing the rest.

He spent some time biting and kissing Derek’s neck and chest, leaving teasing touches on his nipples, but never really touching them. Derek was enjoying it more than he would have thought and awaited for Stiles’ next move with baited breath. He heard him open the bottle he had before, and a smell of vanilla swirled around them. Stiles hummed pleased as he let some of the oil drip on Derek’s chest. It startled him a little, because instead of it being cold as he thought it was slightly warm.

Stiles’ fingertips rested on the drops on his skin and as Derek exhaled, he spread them all over his skin, rubbing the oil deep in it. Stiles took his time kneading his whole chest and his legs, adding oil now and then, teasing him in all the appropriate places and keeping Derek on edge.

Every time Derek thought he was going to snap and flip their positions, Stiles kissed him deeply and with purpose, asking without words to be patience and to let him do this. And Derek let him, because he knew he needed it and he knew Stiles did too. It wasn’t just something to make Derek feel better and make him stop thinking about what would be coming next. It was a way for Stiles to reaffirm their relationship before going back, because if Derek didn’t knew what was going to happen, Stiles did, and the way he was so reverent with Derek’s body made him think that Stiles thought he wouldn’t have another chance to be with him like this in the future. If he was thinking just about the next few weeks or about their whole lives though, Derek couldn’t tell.

Worry clenched hard around him for a moment and he was lost in it, again drowning in the thoughts of what might happen, especially if Stiles was worried about their relationship. He had just found his mate and he didn’t want to lose him, not now nor ever. His breathing picked up and his hands moved of their own accord. Derek tried not to think of the worst awaiting for him, for them, he tried  to convince himself that if Stiles wasn’t telling him what had happened there was a good reason. But he couldn’t help but wonder why Stiles might think he would lose him if what had happened wasn’t something to worry about. He was about to open his eyes and ask him, letting his concerns eat him inside out, when Stiles’ fingers entwined with his once more and his lips left soft kisses all over his face.

“Stay with me Derek,” he whispered against his lips, “Think only about me, leave out the rest,”

“Okay,” Derek swallowed and nodded, “Okay,” he repeated with a shaky breath. He owed this both to Stiles and himself now. In less than a day, they would be back in Beacon Hills, and who knew when they would have time to be like this again, just the two of them. “Promise you’ll do the same, promise me Stiles,”

“I promise, Derek, only of you,” Stiles said bumping their noses, his voice clear and Derek could feel his smile on his own mouth, where Stiles’ lips brushed his with every word. Even with his eyes still closed, Derek was seeing that smile, and he found himself smiling despite the continued rollercoaster of emotions inside him. They kissed for a few minutes, each kiss more passionate than the last, tongues dancing together and teeth nipping teasingly now and then.

“Turn around for me, babe,” Stiles said, kissing him deep and hard one more time. When Stiles’ lifted up to give him some space to move, Derek did as asked and as rolled on his stomach Stiles hooked his fingers in his underwear and brought it down. Derek let him before settling comfortably and pillowing his head on his arms. Stiles straddled his ass and Derek wiggled it a bit, making his mate chuckle.

“Hey there, don’t tease now,” he said with mirth in his voice, but he pushed down on Derek anyway, and the wolf could feel Stiles’ starting to get interested, “Let me do my job properly,”

“Isn’t that your job too?” Derek said with a smirk and another wiggle.

“Oh you have no idea how much I want that to be my job forever,” Stiles murmured against his ear, covering Derek’s body with his and slowly sliding down a little so he wasn’t any more on Derek’s ass, “But first, I want to do something else, so shush now, my wolf,”

Derek hummed and closed his eyes, already melting under the feeling of Stiles’ fingertips digging in the meat of his shoulders. The boy stopped and spread some oil all over Derek’s back, making him moan softly as the warm liquid sensation hit him again, followed right away by long fingers swiping from the top of his shoulders to the dip of his back. His hands stilled there, cupping the beginning of his butt lightly before pushing deep as he slid them up Derek’s spine. Stiles kept up like that, alternating broad swipes of his fingers up and down his spine, deep circling motions of his thumbs under his shoulder blades and ribs and soft caresses on his sides and on the swell of his ass, keeping Derek on edge for a long time.

He was so relaxed he didn’t even notice that Stiles’ attentions were now focused mostly on his thighs, after having massaged his feet and his calves until he was an incoherent puddle of sighs, he had crawled up slowly kneading the thick flesh there. Derek spread his legs unconsciously, and Stiles settled between them, his palms now completely cupping Derek’s cheeks.

He found himself pushing up into it, his cheeks parting a bit with the movement. He heard Stiles’ breath catch and his thumbs spread him further to reveal his hole. Derek quivered in anticipation, even though he didn’t knew what Stiles wanted to do with him. And well, that just added to the arousal coiling in his stomach as fingertips brushed against his entrance.

“Der..?” Stiles murmured hesitantly, sliding up and leaving kisses everywhere he could reach.

“Yeah?”

“Will you ride my face?”

It was asked so innocently that for a moment Derek thought he had heard wrong, but with Stiles’ breath and lips ghosting over his skin and the covered hard length pressed between his lightly parted cheeks it took just a moment to nod fervently at his mate’s request.

Stiles moved and with gentle hands encouraged Derek to do the same. Now Stiles was lying down, his head propped comfortably in the pillows as he watched Derek look up and down his body. He hooked his finger in Stiles’ waistband, arching an eyebrow at him. Stiles nodded with a smirk and lifted his hips up a bit, letting Derek take off his boxers. Before Stiles could tell him any different Derek straddled his chest facing his dick and slowly moved towards Stiles’ face when the other man’s hands found his hips and a long moan left his lips.

Derek jumped a little when Stiles’ teeth nipped at his cheek and his nose brushed his cleft, but soon he had his hands planted on the other’s hips to keep himself upright and his butt was mere inches from Stiles’ mouth. The boy spread his cheeks properly, his thumbs resting almost on his hole as he started to lick and nip all around it, teasing Derek to no end. Like he wasn’t already hard as a rock.

He rocked back on Stiles’ face, trying to get him to do something more, but all he did was bite hard on his left cheek. Derek growled lightly at him, but did nothing more.

“Give me your hands Der,”

Derek arched his back as he joined hands with Stiles and let him position them as he wanted. Now Derek was keeping his own cheeks spread, and with the position, the arch of his back pushed out his ass even more, leaving him completely exposed to Stiles.

The first swipe of his tongue on him was a bit unexpected. Derek was so focused on keeping himself open and not falling forward at the sensation of curious lips and teeth all around his sensitive areas that he had forgot about Stiles’ tongue. A tongue that now was licking broadly over his hole, making it wet and shiny with spit. That tongue licked playfully where Derek’s fingertips rested on his skin, before going back to his hole and flicking a few times there.

Derek moaned deep and rocked back again and this time Stiles let him, burying his face between his cheeks and finally pushing his tongue inside. Stiles’ hair brushed his fingers and Derek slipped one of his hands into it, lacing his fingers there and scratching lightly Stiles’ scalp. Stiles started to lick him with more intent, thrusting in and out of him in a quick rhythm, Derek’s hips moving on their own accord to make him go faster. His grip tightened on the strands between his fingers, and after Stiles encouraging moan Derek just kept him there and started riding him purposely. Stiles’ hand moved and Derek found his cock wrapped by sleek fingers, curled around him in a tight channel to fuck into. The other hand when to tease his balls and moved down further, one nail scraping at his rim and making him gasp then moan loudly as the finger slipped inside him alongside Stiles’ tongue. One finger became two, and then three as Derek kept rocking himself on them and that skilled tongue, his cock fucking into the slippery heat of Stiles’ hand every time he rocked up.

His rhythm started to falter as he got closer to orgasm and Stiles doubled his efforts, his tongue delving even deeper and his fingers prodding constantly at his prostate, moving his other hand to squeeze right under the head and swiping his slit with every upstroke. Derek trembled, Stiles’ name spilling out of his lips in almost a litany as he came all over his mate’s stomach and chest.

His eyes fell to Stiles’ hard dick, and he was ready to suck him off to thank him for this great orgasm, just in a minute, when he noticed that Stiles was coming. The deep rumble of a moan against his sensitive hole that was still clenching and unclenching around Stiles’ digits and tongue, made him spurt more come and Stiles’ dick twitched replaying the action. Fuck, that was so hot. Stiles had come just from eating him out and from his come on his skin. His dick twitched in a feeble attempt to stay hard, but Derek’s energy was completely burned out.

He lifted himself up on shaky thigs, and rolled over, his body falling on the bed like a dead weight that made Stiles bounce a bit, startling a small chuckle out of their sated bodies. He heard Stiles move around and then a wet wipe was cleaning him, before a warm body pressed against his and he fell asleep spooning his mate, their hearts calm and on sync as they let themselves be lulled by each other’s breath.

***

The flight back is nice. Stiles spends most of it trying to sleep and not think about how Derek will react once they get back to his loft, but the quick lapses into sleep show him things that he doesn’t want to think about.

He only hopes that those are just dreams, figments of his imagination, and not how things will really go.

Even with all his attempts at staying calm though, the more they get closer to landing the more Stiles get anxious. Derek notices that and Stiles doesn’t have the strength to put up a charm and hide that from him. It doesn’t make the wolf nervous though, it seems to calm him down as he tries to be a comfort to Stiles.

He loses himself in idle chats with him and Lydia, that keeps glancing at him with a strange glint in his eyes. It almost looks like she’s both scared and thrilled at the prospect of arriving back home.

When the plane lands, Stiles feels a deep ache in his bones, due to the length of the flight but mostly to how tense he feels. He takes a steading breath as they get down, and head to get their luggage. Isaac will be there waiting for them and Stiles hopes he covered any trace of scent, or Derek might go feral on them there.

Isaac greets them with a big smile and that makes Stiles’ chest a little lighter. If he’s smiling like that, then it means thing aren’t that bad. They chat all the way back and Stiles tries not to think about anything, tries to plaster on his face a smile that will be believable enough.

“So,” Derek says seriously, out of nowhere, “What exactly has been going on here?”

They are almost in Beacon Hills, and Stiles sees the way Isaac tenses and the whole atmosphere in the car shifts. He holds Derek’s hand a bit tighter, not caring about the confused glance Isaac throws his way.

“Nothing much,” Isaac answers, and his voice is even, like is not lying, “You’ll see when we get to the flat. I think you and Cora will have a lot to talk about, but in the end it wasn’t anything dangerous, just something that requires our Alpha and our Emissary here,”

“But I’m not your Emissary,” Stiles finds himself saying, almost whispering.

“You are.” Derek says, his voice firm and his eyes search Stiles’ ones to let him know that he means it, “We just need to make it official,”

Stiles just nods, not sure how to feel right now. He is happy that Derek said that, especially in front of two members of the pack, but now he doesn’t feel like he nothing more than a lost kid.

The love he has for Derek, because let’s admit it he loves the guy to moon and back, is clouding his judgment and his senses. He knows he should be more focused cause anything could happen, but he is so worried about how Derek’s heart might break and close off all over again when he sees Laura that he can’t think about much else.

He doesn’t notice they are there until the car stops and Derek is nudging at his knee with their entwined hands. Stiles looks at him and doesn’t know what Derek sees, but a second after the wolf his kissing him sweetly, his palm heavy and warm as he caresses Stiles’ cheek. He sighs in the kiss and nods.

They get out of the car, getting just Derek’s luggage. He insists for Stiles to spend the night at the flat with him, but he manages to get out of it saying that his dad will want him home at least for the first night they’re back. Derek just nods, a bit sadly, but Stiles knows things are gonna change as soon as he walks in his home. He can feel it deep inside him, and he’s scared that what they’ve built in the past week or so will crumble down.

Derek is his mate and he knows that, Derek’s wolf knows that, but Stiles knows the man and he has a long history of shutting off those who are most dear to him. He’s extremely scared of that, because he doesn’t know how he will react, how he will cope. The thing is, other than realizing that he loves him, Stiles thinks his spark has chosen him as a mate too. He feels like a tread of pulsating read light connecting his spark to Derek’s wolf, to Derek himself, like the red string of fate that connects two destined lovers, and he really hopes that string won’t be cut.

As his spark got stronger he could see all the connections with the pack, treads of a soft golden flowing from him to them and vice versa, but none of them, not even the one with Scott or Lydia, is as strong as the one with Derek. And the red that makes it so bright is not because he’s the Alpha.

They climb up the stairs to the loft, and everyone gets quieter and quieter. Isaac and Lydia stay in the back as Stiles and Derek approach the door. Stiles knows who’s inside and when Derek breaths deeply and a chocked moan escapes him, he knows that Derek knows too now.

Derek tenses up and his claws pop out, he turns to Stiles with a look full of hope, but Stiles can see how scared Derek is to grasp that hope.

The door opens and Scott is standing there, a bit pale and with a nervous smile on his face.

“Welcome back,” he says to them, voice even, like he’s trying not to make too much noise. Stiles realizes he doesn’t want to startle Derek.

“Derek?” a voice comes from inside, so quiet and thin Stiles thinks he just imagined it. However, the way Derek tenses even more and steps forward and then back tells him they all heard it.

Scott moves aside, revealing a sofa where Laura and Cora are sitting huddled together in a big blanket, Kira is sitting in an armchair next to them and smiles her sweetest smile at them. Laura stands up and walks towards Derek at the same time he steps up to her. They look at each other for a second before she smiles at him, and Derek hugs her so fiercely that if they weren’t wolves it would break their bones.

When Laura wraps her arms around him Derek let’s out the most sad howl Stiles has ever heard, and he can feel his heart breaking for his mate. He wants to go to him and wrap his own arms around him, kiss him and tell him that everything is fine, that she’s here and won’t go anywhere anymore. That Stiles is here for him and won’t leave him, ever.

Derek looks around him, his eyes glowing red and then he growls. Scott and Kira hurry towards the door and before Stiles can comprehend what’s going on, Derek closes it on their faces, sparing just a glance to him. Stiles feels his heart break and sees the thread of red that connects him to Derek quivering in pain.

He falls onto his knees, and just Scott’s arm around his waist takes him out of his trance. He steels himself and starts walking away, Scott and Kira at his sides. He knows if he were to look at them he’d see sadness in their eyes, because they are both hopeless romantic and surely they hoped Derek wouldn’t shut out Stiles too.

He hoped the same, but Derek is like this. Stiles just knows he will need a few days, maybe a bit more, to get used to the fact that Laura is back. It had hurt him so much when she had died, been murdered by the same uncle that now is pack once more. Stiles thinks deep down Derek still feels guilty about Laura’s death, but maybe now that she’s back she will convince him otherwise. Maybe he can heal that wound now.

Lydia is waiting for them downstairs, she looks so heartbroken, her cheek stained with tears, and Stiles doesn’t know why. She hugs him briefly and then goes to the car quickly, like she wants to get out of here as fast as she can, but the way she keeps glancing back at the loft suggests something else.

When he gets home his dad is there to wait for him, and he smiles sadly at him, but the fight about him and Derek that he’s sure will happen never does. His dad just hugs him, fills his head with things that happened while he wasn’t there and chats for a long time. He knows his dad isn’t one to talk much, Stiles got the chatty side of himself from his mother, so he’s really grateful that his dad is going out of his way to make him feel better.

They cook dinner together, Stiles even lets it go when his dad gets steaks out of the fridge, and he feels a bit better with all these familiar things around him. They ground him and make him feel calmer and more sure that whatever he has with Derek is going to last. A few days apart won’t break a bond like that. He sends his emotions through the thread of red, already knowing he won’t get an answer, but suddenly a burst of warmth wraps around him and he smiles.

It’s like Derek is saying sorry to him, using the bond to let him know that he still wants him, but Stiles knows he needs time. Now though, after this small connection, it’s easier to breath and give him time without worrying about what it might happen.

Stiles just hopes he won’t have to wait too long for Derek to come back to him.


	28. 6.3 - The Hale Pack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so busy lately, but in the end I managed to finish this one too! Hope you like this chapter and let me know, the new one is almost ready ;)   
> And I'm both sad and relieved to say that the story is coming to an end :) probably one or two chapters left!
> 
> Hope you all are having a nice weekend :)

Derek woke up feeling a little groggy, his eyelids heavy and his limbs feeling all cramped up. When he opened his eyes, he realized why he was feeling like that. Cora was lying half on top of him, and Laura, yes Laura, he still found it difficult to believe it, was wrapped up around his middle and his legs.

It had been like this for almost a week now. They had made a den in Derek’s room, pillows and blankets making the bed even more comfortable and safe. Just their scent was there, Derek hadn’t wanted anyone else in. And not only in the room, but the whole apartment.

He knew Isaac came by every day, ringing the doorbell and leaving food outside the door for them, but never waiting long enough for Derek to see him or thank him. His beta was being considerate and at that thought, a pang of guilt spread through Derek’s chest. He was ignoring his whole pack for this.

They were being really understanding with the whole situation and Derek knew it was time for him to be grateful for this. He needed the rest of his pack. Needed to know what was going on with them, how they were taking this situation. For what he gathered, Scott wasn’t an Alpha anymore, having sacrificed that bit of his wolf to save Laura. Derek would always be grateful to him for that.

So today was going to be the last day he holed up with his sisters in his room, shutting everybody out.

Especially Stiles. He missed him so much, but his wolf had been so unstable and he didn’t want to hurt him. Thinking about it now, it was a bit ridiculous, because his wolf knew Stiles was his mate and wouldn’t hurt him under any circumstance, but he had been too confused and then too immersed in the joy of having his sister back to think about it.

He had felt Stiles through their bond and had tried to send back as much love and gratefulness as he could; hoping Stiles would forgive him for how he was acting. In the past few days though, Stiles hadn’t sent his feelings back as usual and Derek was starting to get worried about it. Had he screwed up probably the best thing of his life? He really hoped not. It was another reason to get out of this bubble of safety.

He stretched a bit, trying not to wake up his sisters, but Laura moved and stretched as well, yawning a soft morning and snuggling up higher next to Derek.

“I can hear the gears turning in that head of yours. What’s up little bro?” she asked softly.

“I think I’ve been neglecting the pack a bit too much this week,” Derek started, “I mean, we came back and I holed up here with you and Cora, not allowing anyone to come in.”

“Derek it’s understandable you acting like this with all that happened,” Laura said, but Derek shook his head before she could continue.

“Yeah, but I should’ve at least texted them after a few days,” he mumbled guiltily, “Especially Stiles…”

“Why especially Stiles?” Laura asked, perking up.

It had been difficult for Derek not to mention the rest of the pack too much while he was with his sisters. Cora already knew them, but Laura didn’t, she just had the opportunity to know those who were in Beacon Hills and Cora had briefed her about those missing, but Derek hadn’t had the time to properly talk to her about them.

They had spent this week reconnecting and remembering when they were kids and did all kind of things together. Derek and Laura had told Cora a few stories from when they were in New York, not knowing that their little sister was still alive. Remembering was painful, but it had been good to talk about everything with them finally, getting everything out in the open. Today was the right time for Derek to start talking about the pack he had built for himself, his family. Maybe it was the time to introduce the most important part of it to his sister. He was almost sure Cora knew, like Scott and the rest of the pack, but he wanted to make things official with all of his family, and now he had another sister he could proudly introduce his mate to.

“Because he’s my mate,” he said bluntly, knowing that it was better not to beat around the bush with Laura. She was going to rip him a new one already since he hadn’t said anything until now, he didn’t want to anger her more. Alpha or not, she was still his big sister and she could be still scary sometimes.

“He’s your what?” she shrieked, definitely waking up Cora.

“You’re a fucking idiot Derek,” his little sister grunted from her spot against Derek’s back.

“Derek, please, tell me I heard wrong,” Laura said with a sigh, “Tell me you haven’t been such an idiot,”

“Thanks girls. That makes me feel a lot less guilty than I already was,” Derek said, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Sorry Der, but you really are an idiot,” Laura said, slapping his arm and uncovering his eyes, “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? I know the situation wasn’t ideal, but he’s your mate!”

“I know, I know,” he mumbled, “I was hoping to go over his place later, kneel and grovel until he forgives me and invite him to dinner so you can meet him,”

“He’s not mad at you,” Cora stated, giving up on every pretence of sleeping. “He’s a bit pissed in these past few days, but not exactly mad,”

“And how do you know that?” Derek’s eyebrows climbed up at every word that left Cora’s mouth.

“Because even if we stayed here for almost a week, I still know how to use a phone. Stiles is not just your mate, you know,” she rolled her eyes, “He’s my friend and our emissary, so of course I’d keep him updated about everything while you were busy brooding and reconnecting,”

“Oh,” was all that Derek could muster to say.

“Yeah, oh” Cora said at the same time as Laura swatted him again, almost yelling, “He’s our emissary too?”

“Yes, yes,” Derek tried to get away from her hands, “So you two think I should go and ask him to come to dinner tonight? Maybe with the biggest pack of curly fries I can get?”

“Yeah, and prepare to grovel a bit,” Cora chuckled, “He won’t let you out of it easily for sure,”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Derek rubbed his eyes and sighed deeply, “But I deserve it.”

“At least you matured enough to recognize when it actually is your fault,” Laura commented.

“Oh shut it,” Derek said, kicking them both lightly, “I think I’m going to go to him and stay away from you two forever,”

“You’d miss us too much,” Cora stated, flicking his thigh.

“Unfortunately for me, that’s true,” he admitted with a grunt.

“Come on, Derbear, go get your boy,” Laura pushed him, laughing when he rolled his eyes at her and tried to push her off the bed.

Derek stood up and went for a shower. He spent his time there thinking about how to tell Stiles how sorry he was for being such a dick to him. He had to make it up to his whole pack, but first he had to make it up to Stiles in a spectacular way.

A plan formed in his mind as the water slid down his body. He smiled to himself and finished washing. His smile turned to a grin as he towelled off and the perfect idea came to mind, making him giddy and ready to go and get his mate back.

***

Stiles was lying on his bed, the room was dark with the curtains pulled over. He just stayed there not thinking about anything in particular, trying to keep himself from worrying too much about Derek. Cora was keeping him updated, and he could feel Derek through the bond, how he was trying to convey to Stiles his feelings. But in the past few days, Stiles hadn’t felt like responding to it.

He was acting childish and he knew that, but he couldn’t help it. He was a bit pissed that Derek hadn’t contacted him in the least, not even made an attempt other than communicating through the bond. It wasn’t enough now, Stiles missed his mate and knew Derek missed him too, but it didn’t seem enough to make him contact him.

Stiles was shook out of his thoughts by something rasping at his window, and he got up slowly. The noise was strange, but Stiles let his curiosity get the best of him, feeling there was no threat there, even if he didn’t knew what was behind the curtains waiting for him.

He pulled them abruptly and a laugh was startled out of him at the sight that greeted him.

A big black wolf was perched awkwardly on his windowsill, his butt sitting on the roof on the side and one of his front paws holding him up, while the other scratched gently on the window. The wolf had a big bag of what smelled like fries hanging from his mouth, thick black letters spelled the words PLEASE FORGIVE THIS SOURWOLF on the brown paper. The biggest cup of soda was resting next his paw on top of a big box of Reese’s peanut butter cups.

Stiles just kept laughing at the sight, opening up the window for the wolf and motioning for him to come in. If this was Derek’s way to apologize him, he had already succeeded, but Stiles decided to let him stew a bit more. He grabbed the drink and the chocolates as the wolf jumped in, careful of the precious cargo in his mouth.

When Stiles turned to him, he understood how much this meant to Derek, because he was sitting next to Stiles’ bed, his tail waggling and thumping on the floor, and if that wasn’t enough a behaviour unlike Derek, then he didn’t knew what it was. Well, the fact that he called himself sourwolf was a big hint of how sorry he was, but seeing him like this was making Stiles want to be a bit mean, so he just sat down on his bed with the food and waited.

Derek dropped the bag of fries next to his leg, and pushed it towards Stiles with his nose. Stiles grabbed it and opened it, unable to keep the smile off his face, but he refrained to roll his eyes when he saw it was a bag full of curly fries. He had a few of them, and then patted the bed next to him and Derek jumped up.

The wolf made a distressed noise, not settling down and this time Stiles really rolled his eyes at him.

“Snuggle up, big guy,” he said, sensing that Derek needed the closeness. Even if he was still pissed at him, he was not going to be that mean and deny him that, especially because he wanted it too. “It’ll take me a while to finish all of this,” he added with a smirk.

Derek settled next to him, his body wrapping around Stiles’ leg and back. His wolf form was really beautiful and Stiles couldn’t resist stroking the soft fur of his back, burying his fingers in it and letting flow through the bond his emotions, how much he had missed him in this week.

“You’re such an asshole Derek,” Stiles said after munching a handful of fries. The wolf at his side whined and butted him on the leg with his snout. Stiles snorted and shook his head, eating a few more fries.

“It’s been really difficult this week you know?” He started, pointedly not looking at him and shoving other food in his mouth. “Scott is still adjusting to being a Beta again, but luckily Kira helped his wolf from going feral. I think they are mates, like us, you know? And Isaac has helped a lot too, he was there when it happened so he helped me digging for information into the biggest pile of books I had ever seen.” He paused a bit, eating more and more fries, because they were really good and he wasn’t about to waste them just because he wanted to rant at Derek. Or maybe yes.

“Deaton gathered all the books he could about the Nemeton’s magic and we researched for days. Lydia helped too, but she’s been strange the whole time. I think there’s something wrong with her, and that scares me a lot. She hasn’t been sleeping well and she’s always lost in her thoughts,” he sighed deeply, “I’m pissed Derek. I needed you. I need you every day. From what I gathered from the few books I asked Deaton for, our bond is not solid enough to go for more than a few days with no contact at all. It’s not like I need to be glued to you 24/7, but, you know...” he trailed off, looking at the wolf once more. He had the guiltiest expression possible and Stiles snorted again, his clean hand reaching out to touch him, reassure him even as he was trying to make him understand how hurt Stiles had been.

“I know it was difficult for you,” he mumbled, looking at him in the eyes, “seeing her there, smelling her scent. I get the first few days. I really get it, and I’m glad you tried to reassure me through the bond at least. But Derek,” he averted his eyes, “I’m your mate. I’m supposed to be next to you when things like this happen. I wanted to be there, but you shut me out completely and I…”

“I’m so sorry Stiles,” Derek said in a whisper, wrapping his arms tightly around him, “I’ve been such an idiot,”

Stiles melted into Derek’s embrace. He had missed him so much and all he wanted was to forget the last week and snuggle up with him and never let him go. Fuck, he was so gone for this guy. He rolled his eyes internally and breathed deeply, detaching himself from his mate.

“Derek, I want nothing more than leave all this behind and start from where we left off,” he said quietly, “But you can’t act like this again, okay? Please, don’t shut me out in moments like this ones. I am your mate. And you are mine. I want to be it fully, you know? Want to be next to you and comfort you when you cry, when you feel overwhelmed. I want to be the one who makes you laugh for silly things and gets the smile back on your face after sad or hard moments. And I want you to do the same for me. I want you there until the end of the line,” he laughed a bit at himself, shaking his head, “Oh dear, I truly am in lo-”

Stiles stopped abruptly and felt he cheeks go red. Was it the right moment for Stiles to tell Derek about his feelings for him? But, there was ever a right moment for this kind of things? He opened his mouth again, steeling himself for his confession, but when he looked at Derek, the words died in his mouth.

“I’m fucking gone for you Stiles,” the werewolf murmured, tightening once more his arms around him and bringing him close. Stiles was at loss for words there. Had Derek just told him what he thought he had?

 “I was so scared I had screwed up badly. I still am a bit,” he chuckled nervously and Stiles smirked fondly at him, “But damn, I’m not going to let you go. I’m going to do all that I can for you to forgive me. You are the most important thing in my life, and I know,” he stopped Stiles with a finger on his lips, “I know I didn’t exactly show it in the past week, but I was so scared. I didn’t want to hurt you. I realize now that was foolish of me,”

“It was yeah,” Stiles murmured still smirking, “But why did you get to this conclusion?”

“Because my wolf chose you as his mate. And I did too,” Derek ducked his head and Stiles could see him blushing, “Like, Stiles, wolves chose a mate for life. The decision was mine too. What I’m trying to say is… oh fuck,” he rolled his eyes and huffed. Stiles refrained from laughing, but he was so happy that he jumped on Derek and kissed him deeply.

“I love you too, sourwolf,” he murmured against his lips and he saw how Derek’s eyes widened from a close distance. They sparkled, Stiles watched at the small traces of blue and gold in that green sea, and Derek smiled at him so softly and Stiles felt himself fall even more.

“I love you,” Derek told him, his whole expression so open that made Stiles’ heart ache, “I really am sorry Stiles,”

“I know,” he said, “We’ll talk more about it later,” he chuckled a bit before adding, “When you’re less naked,”

Derek snorted, but his cheeks reddened a bit anyway. Stiles wasn’t bothered at all, he was enjoying the view now that his heart was at ease. He wriggled his eyes at Derek before taking off his own t-shirt. He needed to feel Derek close, their skin touching, hands roaming and lips searching.

“I don’t want to make love with you now,” Stiles said, “And yes, it’s corny, but I don’t regret saying it.”

“Yes I agree,” Derek nodded, placing a kiss on Stiles’ cheek, “It would feel like make up sex in a way, not that that wouldn’t be great, but I don’t want the our first time to be after something like this,” his hands went up and down Stiles’ naked back. Then he added as an afterthought “It’s always going to be special with you though,” his smile was almost blinding.

“Oh my god,” Stiles buried his head into Derek’s neck to hide his embarrassment, “You’re such a sap.”

“Just for you, sweethums,” Derek said with the most serious expression he could muster.

“Oh dear,” Stiles said laughing, “I’m not sure I love you anymore,”

“You hurt me, honeybun,”

“Stop it,” Stiles was beet red from laughter, happiness and even a bit from embarrassment. “Choose one that’s not so cheesy please,”

“Oh, so I can call you whatever I want?”

“Be careful what you say next or that first time will be really far away,” he said prodding Derek’s chest with his index.

“Of course,” Derek said with a little grin, “Like you could resist me for that long,”

“Oh really?”

“No, not really,” Derek chuckled, “I’m the one who couldn’t,”

“That’s better,” Stiles nodded, “But why are we still talking? Shouldn’t be doing something about the rest of my clothes and maybe have like some make-up grinding and maybe even a blowjob if you’re lucky,” he added with a wink.

“You’re impossible, sweetheart,” Derek said laughing, and rolled them over.

“No, not sweetheart, never sweetheart,” Stiles laughed with him and let Derek take off the rest of his clothes.

“Is babe okay then?” Derek asked as their skin finally touched, almost every inch of it.

“Yeah, yeah, just shut up now, okay?” Stiles mumbled, not giving Derek any time to say anything more and claiming his mouth in a deep kiss. Derek’s hands were everywhere on him, and Stiles’ raked his nails along Derek’s back when their erections touched.

They were quiet as they touched and kissed, discovering their bodies once more. Stiles could feel their bond pulsing, vibrating and growing, becoming stronger with each kiss and caress. They stayed there for a long time, even after they had come. Just lying there, exchanging kisses and enjoying the warmth of their entwined bodies.

***

Stiles woke up with a little start when he heard knocking on his door. He needed a few minutes to remember how he ended up with Derek in his bed, but as the memories came back, he smiled softly at the man curled up on his chest still sleeping. He pulled a blanket over them, and as quietly as he could he invited whoever was knocking in.

When his dad’s head poked from the door, Stiles thought that maybe he should’ve asked who was at the door before inviting them in.

“Mh, hey daddy-oh,” he said with a sheepish smile, “This is not what it looks like,”

His dad didn’t even comment, he just raised his eyebrows and folded his arms in front of his chest.

“Well, maybe a little bit what it looks like, but…”

“Stiles, just shut up please,” the sheriff sighed, “It’s…it’s okay, son. Have you two resolved?”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, and couldn’t stop the fond smile at the thought that Derek loved him.

“I bet you did if he makes you smile like that,” the sheriff snorted, “Well, when he wakes up tell him he has to come for dinner at least once a week. Say, Friday?”

“But isn’t Friday tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Why, is that a problem?” his dad asked with a grin.

“Oh, no, no, it should be alright, I think,” Stiles said a bit baffled by how well his father was taking the whole situation.

“Good. Now get dressed and get up,” he said with a roll of his eyes, throwing towards the bed a small gym bag, “It’s almost dinnertime and I don’t think his plans included just appearing at your window like a wounded puppy,”

“How do you know?” Stiles asked extremely confused.

“I just did,” his father said with a smirk, heading out of the room, “Now wake him up,”

“Yeah dad,”

“And no funny business, you got 10 minutes to be downstairs,” his dad warned, “And I got wolfs bane bullets, Derek. I know you’re awake. Just to let you know, I got the ones that won’t kill you, but trust me they’ll hurt like a motherfucker.”

“Dad!”

“I consider myself warned, sheriff,” Derek said seriously, raising his head and fixing the sheriff with a determined look, “I’ll take care of Stiles, sir. I’ll do everything I can as not to hurt him again,”

“You better,” the sheriff said back, “And call me John, kid, you’re my son’s mate after all,” he said with another roll of his eyes, “Oh and by the way, it’s almost seven, just so you know,” he added with a smirk directed at the wolf.

“Oh shit,” Derek swore, rising up but managing to keep the both of them covered, “Sorry sir, I mean, John, I’m…” Derek tripped on his words as Stiles tried not to laugh at his mate’s interaction with his dad.

“Relax Derek,” John chuckled, “I’ll leave you two to get ready,”

As his dad got out of the room and closed the door behind him, Stiles turned to Derek that was now standing up and gathering Stiles’ clothes. He lost himself looking at the curves of his body and was brought out of his trance when his clothes hit him square on the face.

“Come on, get dressed, we’re already late,” Derek hurried him bending down to get the small bag and kissing him lightly as he did so.

“So I gather the surprises are not finished?” Stiles asked.

“No, not yet,” Derek answered with a sheepish smile as he took out some clothes from the bag and got dressed. Stiles got up and stretched, loving the way Derek’s eyes followed the movements of his body with an hungry look.

“Sure you want me to get dressed?” he asked with a smirk.

“As much as it pains me to cover up all this beauty, yes,” Derek said earnestly, making Stiles blush, “But I can take them off again later, if you want me to,”

“Oh, I can’t wait for later, trust me,” he said, sliding his pants and trousers on. He gave his mate another kiss before slipping his t-shirt on. Derek slid his fingers through his hair a few times, his other arm circling Stiles’ middle, his face soft with a sweet smile.

“I can’t either,” Derek kissed him again and Stiles felt like nothing could be better than having his mate back with him.

“Let’s go then,” Stiles said twining their fingers, “lead the way,” he smirked, “babe.”

“Oh shut up, Stiles,” the wolf grumbled with a scowl, but Stiles could see he was trying not to laugh.

“Zipping up my sourwolf,” he smiled and mimed zipping his lips. Derek rolled his eyes, but he was clearly amused and Stiles could see his small smile as they got out from Stiles’ room and went downstairs.

The sheriff was sitting on the sofa, his feet up on the small table and a pizza box beside them. He was watching a game on TV, and when he and Derek halted next the sofa, his eyes didn’t stray from the screen.

“Have a good evening you guys,” the sheriff said, “See you both tomorrow for dinner then,”

“Of course, John,” Derek said, “I’ll bring dessert,” he added with a quick guilty look at Stiles.

“You won’t,” Stiles said resolutely, “I’m already letting go about that pizza there. I don’t even want to know what you ordered, but I’m sure it’s not good for your health. So no dessert tomorrow,”

“An apple pie will be more than fine Derek, ignore Stiles,”

“Dad!” Stiles said with a scowl, his hands flying around.

“Stiles, just go and enjoy your evening,” the sheriff said finally turning to look at him, “You’ll thank me and regret it if you don’t reward me with that pie tomorrow,”

“We’ll see,” he grumbled, still not happy about it, “Let’s go then,” he said taking Derek’s hand back in his.

“Have a good night John,” Derek said with a nod and a smile.

“Good night dad,” Stiles added as they headed towards the door. The sheriff grunted in response and Stiles was about to close the door when his dad called him again.

“Stiles?”

“Yeah dad?”

“Remember to use protection, son,” his dad said grinning mischievously, “You never know with both of your particular natures,”

“Oh my god, dad, I’ll pretend you never said that, bye,” Stiles almost yelled as he closed the door, his face red. He glanced at Derek. He was laughing quietly, but his cheeks were red too. Stiles rolled his eyes and gave up, laughing with him. This day was so strange. And apparently, it was far from over.

“So, where are we going?” Stiles asked once they were on the Camaro.

“You’ll have to wait and well,” that and a strange smile had been Derek’s only answer as he handed Stiles sleeping mask to cover his eyes with, “…see,”

Stiles smiled back, kissing him chastely before slipping the mask on and getting comfortable on the seat. Their fingers stayed entwined the whole time, their hand resting between them on the dash.

As Derek drove, Stiles realized that he was trying hard to surprise Stiles and make up for the time he had been an idiotic sourwolf, and even as curious as he was, Stiles decided that for this time he could go along with it.

***

It wasn’t long before the car slowed down and halted to a stop in what Stiles supposed was some kind of gravelly road. With all the turns Derek had taken, he had no idea where they could be. He had tried to guess the road a few times, mostly to hear Derek amused huffs at his completely casual naming of streets. He couldn’t see his mate, but he was happy to know that Derek was smiling even at his silly antics. It must have meant that things with Laura had gone well.

Stiles hoped so. He hoped that Derek would let him meet her. Well, him and the rest of the pack too. But like, it would’ve been nice to meet her as Derek’s mate before and as a pack member and emissary after. Anyway, Derek had just got out of the car and Stiles was still sitting there, his mask still on, almost vibrating in anticipation.

With a rush of air the car door on his side opened and Derek was grabbing his hands and pulling him out of the car, wrapping his arms around him and placing a soft kiss on Stiles’ lips.

“Can I take the mask off now?” he asked smiling on Derek’s lips.

“I’m not sure…” Derek murmured back.

“What you mean?” Stiles chuckled.

“I’m a bit scared of what your reaction might be, actually,”

“Derek I’m sure whatever it is, is going to be amazing,” Stiles reassured him, “And just so you know, I’ve already forgiven you, so all you’re doing now it’s just a plus…”

With gentle fingers, Derek took off the mask from Stiles’ eyes, and he fluttered his eyelashes a few times to get used to the light around him. It hadn’t been a long trip and even if it was getting darker around them, the light coming from the big house in front of them had made Stiles’ eyes burn at first.

As he stared at the place in front of him, his mouth fell open and a swirl of emotions exploded in his chest.

“Derek…” Stiles whispered not looking away from the place, but reaching for Derek’s hand.

“I thought it was time…” the wolf answered lowly, twining their fingers and tightening his hold on Stiles’ waist.

Where until a few weeks before there was the husk of pain and ash of the old Hale house, now a beautiful new house stood. It was big and beautiful, every trace of the past disgrace gone. Stiles took notice of the small lanterns that light up the porch, dangling in the soft breeze. They cast a warm light on the steps and on all the surrounding patch of flowers, multi-coloured blossoms all around the house.

He takes in the absurd number of windows and realizes that Derek has built this for the whole pack, to share, to live together as his old pack did.

Something broke and melted back together in him, when his eyes fell back to the flowers near the steps, and recognized what they are. Bouvardia doubles and gladiolus mixed up in a flutter of colours, embraced by the soft pale blue of forget-me-nots. The bouvardia were his mother favourite flowers, she always said that they were like Stiles, full of energy and life. Stiles guesses that the gladiolus must have been Talia’s favourite flower, and that is the most respectful and sweet thing Derek could do. And he managed to make Stiles love him even more, including his mother in his show of affection for his lost family.

Stiles turns around and kisses him hard, feeling Derek’s body relax under his lips. He realizes just now that he hadn’t uttered a word and the wolf might have thought all sorts of things.

“It’s beautiful Derek,” he murmured against his mate’s lips, before moving back a little and asking softly “Show me inside?”

Derek smiled at him, a soft smile, full of love and only that had Stiles leaning forward again for another quick kiss. He felt really lucky, especially after all they’ve been through. Derek lets go of him, but still held his hand as he guided Stiles in the house.

Stiles furrowed his brows at Derek when he knocked on the door, but the Alpha just smirked at him playfully. The next thing Stiles knew was that the door was thrown open and two bodies were hugging him fiercely, knocking his breath out of him.

“Stiles, finally!” a voice said near his ear. It sounded a bit like Cora’s, but Stiles knew it wasn’t hers. Laura. Laura was hugging him. And Cora too, if the amount of limbs around him wasn’t an anomaly on Laura’s body, but nobody had mentioned extra arms in the newly resurrected Hale.

“Hi?” he said cautiously, his voice wavering a bit.

“Let him go, girls,” Derek said with a huff and a bit of a growl, tugging Stiles towards him from their still entwined hands, “You’re going to suffocate him,”

Cora snorted at that, but let go. Laura squeezed him a bit more before letting go and giving him a wicked smile. Stiles found himself returning it and instantly he knew they were going to get along well.

“I really don’t like those smiles of yours...” Derek said as he shooed them all inside.

“Oh don’t worry little Der, I am completely innocuous,” Laura said, her smile staying in place, “Just happy about finally meeting him. And you Stiles?”

“Same here,” he answered with a smirk at his Alpha. His mate just rolled his eyes but didn’t let go of his hand.

“Go and show him the place, we’ll get the dinner on the table,” Laura said as she headed into what Stiles could see was a large open space that combined kitchen and living room. “And don’t stop too much in your room Derek. I know you want to show it to him properly, but wait for later,” she added with a wink.

“Laura!” Derek half growled to her, the tips of his ears reddening. Stiles snickered, feeling his own blush, but already loving the eldest Hale wit. He was still snickering light as Derek guided him throughout the rest of the first floor. He showed him the living room and the kitchen (in which Stiles couldn’t wait to cook for the pack), two toilets, a library, two studies and a gaming room. A freaking gaming room. Derek had pointed to a door on the side of the library telling him that was the basement, with a gym and storage room mostly. The hasty way he showed him the first floor and dragged him upstairs told Stiles his mate had something he wanted him to see more than that.

They head upstairs, the first flight of stairs leading to a large corridor full of doors, another small flight of stairs in front of the one they step out of leading to a big double door. Derek shows him the rooms in the floor, letting Stiles guess which one is who’s. Stiles guessed them all, and his suspicion that Derek had built this house for all of them is confirmed. Every room has his own private bathroom and it’s completely furnished, little details giving away the occupants, even if some of them haven’t been here to build them.

There’s a last room at the end of the corridor, and when they open the door, Stiles gapes a bit because is completely empty.

“This should be your room…” Derek said quietly where they stand on the door, his tone hesitant.

“Should?” Stiles asked, turning to face him.

“Come with me,” Derek told him, lacing their fingers again and tugging Stiles behind him to the other set of stairs.

It’s just a few steps and they were in front of the big double door. When Derek opened it, it revealed something that looked a lot like an attic. It was a really big room, a closed door probably going to the private bathroom. There’s a big four poster bag, a gigantic walk in closet and even a set of armchairs and a small sofa in front of the big window. The wall long glass panes letting the feeble light from the sunset paint the room a warm orange.

“This is your room,” Stiles stated, looking around to gather every detail. It looked a bit like the one they were sharing in the hotel, and Stiles is impressed at whoever did this work. It looked so comfortable and homey, the warm colours of the walls and the furniture giving a peaceful air to the room.

Derek toed off his shoes, and Stiles followed suit when Derek gestured for him to go with him in the room. The door was closed behind them as Stiles stepped in, his feet loving the thick carpet that was covering the whole floor. It was cream coloured, complementing the sheets and contrasting perfectly with the dark wood of the furniture and the dark brown of the duvet.

They sat down on the sofa, and Stiles sighed in pleasure at how comfortable it was, burrowing into Derek’s side and snuggling there.

“It’s my room yes,” Derek told him, and then he breathed deeply. “It could be ours if you want to…”

“Are you serious?” Stiles asked, surprise evident his voice as well as his face, turning around in his mate’s arms. “You want me to not only move in here with the rest of the pack, but also in your room?”

“Well, I want the pack to know they’ll always have a place to come to,” he started, a blush creeping up his ears, “They don’t have to move here permanently, and the same is for you, but if you want to…”

“If I want to,” Stiles chuckled, stroking his cheek, he couldn’t help the fondness in his voice.

“Yes, if you want to. I would love to have you here living with me, sharing a home and a room,” Derek continued not looking at Stiles, he smirked “among all the other things. But I’m not going to force the decision on you,”

“Trust me Derek, you aren’t,” he said, placing a loving kiss on Derek’s lips, “And I’d love to share all this with you,” he chuckled, “But are you sure you want to share all of this with me? I’m a menace on good days, just imagine what would happen if you piss me off,”

“I want it anyway,” Derek said, chuckling as well, with a bright spark lighting his eyes. They kissed for a while, the kisses getting dirtier and their hands wandering all over their bodies.

“I think this moment should be commemorated with some great sex, but I think Laura might come and take us downstairs by the ears if we stay away more,” Stiles said giving Derek one last kiss and wondering when he had straddled his mate’s hips.

“You’re right,” Derek huffed a laugh, “She wanted to have dinner with you, me and Cora before inviting the whole pack over. She wanted to get to know you without the interference of the pack, you know, being my mate and all,”

“So I should be expecting an ‘I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth if you hurt him’ kind of speech?”

“Probably, yes,” Derek grimaced as he confirmed that.

“Good, no pressure then,” Stiles said rolling his eyes and getting up.

They went downstairs, fingers entwined once more and happy smiles on their faces. The two girls were waiting for them with the food spread on the short table in between the big sofas, the flat screen TV on with some music on low volume, Laura humming along with it as she set the cutlery and plates on the table before sitting down.

Stiles and Derek looked at each other with a last smirk at Laura’s face before sitting down. Cora plopped down on the empty sofa, sprawling there and grabbing a plate.

“Cora!” Laura said, making her sister’s head shoot up as she was selecting her food, “Manners!”

Stiles couldn’t help it and burst out laughing at that, a small tear escaping his eye. Derek was chuckling along with him and Cora was levelling her sister with a unimpressed stare.

“Stiles is the one who cooks most of the packs meals, Laura,” Cora said starting to grab her food again, “He knows we have no manners. He literally saw us fight like animals over the last piece of his lasagne,”

“Oh,” Laura said with a surprised tone. Her gaze shifted from Stiles to Derek a few times, and she smirked evilly. “Well at least we know who’s going to be the pack mom,”

“Laura,” Derek groaned.

“Oh, come on sourwolf, don’t you want to see me surrounded by little cubs?” Stiles said, only half joking. He was still young, but he wanted kids with Derek. And he wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on the other packs couple’s kids.

Derek released a pleased rumble at his words and Stiles chuckled, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“As I thought,” Stiles and Laura found themselves saying at the same time, causing another round of laughter in the group.

They all started to eat, piling their plates with all kinds of food. It was all take away, but it looked like Laura and Cora had raided every restaurant in town for the dinner. They ate chatting and, in Stiles and Laura’s case, getting to know each other. Threats of immense pain were done with a big shining smile to a giggling Stiles, that believed every word of them and promised once more to cherish Derek, looking his mate in his eyes when he told his sisters that he loved him and would never want to see him hurt, never again.

Laura had made a pleased noise at that, before she and Cora had started making gagging noises as they shared a kiss.

“You two are too much,” she had said, “Even worse than mom and dad,”

“Yeah,” Cora said nodding, “And I thought that no one could ever be worse than them,”

Even thought they were acting all disgusted, Stiles knew how much their words meant to Derek, and if the happy smile of his mate was saying something, well, the deep thrum of happiness he could feel coming from him was shouting how happy he was.

After dinner, they texted the pack to see if any of them could come and officially meet the ‘new’ Hale, and officially see their pack home.

They all managed to come, parents included and even with the time difference, they managed to call the rest of the pack on Skype, telling them the news. It had been a bit tense when their faces had popped in the screen and Peter’s eyes had landed on Laura. He had made to go away, but Laura’s voice had been firm when she had told him to stay.

Stiles had never seen the man so subdued and sad; he could almost feel it on his skin, even if they were in different places. They managed to lighten the mood and chatted happily for a while, and then Scott stood up and said he had an announcement to make.

“Since I’m not Alpha anymore,” Scott had started, nodding at Derek with a small smile that told him he was glad of why he wasn’t one anymore, “I have something to propose to you all,” he waited so see everyone nodding.

“Our packs have merged into one in the last few years, and if Derek is alright with that,” he continued, before taking a deep breath, “I’d like for us to be all part of the Hale pack.”

“But you already are,” Derek said, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“I mean only the Hale pack Derek,” Scott said with a chuckle, “Not the McCall-Hale pack. Just the Hale pack, because you are our Alpha now and I think it’s time for the Hale pack to go back to its former glory, if you’ll want us with you for that,”

Stiles could see how Derek was speechless at Scott’s words, and he too was a bit. He knew Scott had grew to respect Derek a lot, and the thing was mutual, but he hadn’t imagined the now beta wolf to trust Derek so much.

“Derek?” Stiles nudged him with his knee.

“I…” Derek looked at everyone around him, and saw all the expectant faces looking at him with smiles. He found himself smiling back, his wolf howling with happiness inside him, “Welcome to the Hale pack, I suppose,” he said with a shrug.

There was a collective cheer and drinks were poured in both the places, even Peter managed a smile at the happiness that surrounded him. Stiles couldn’t hold his own smile, and he kissed Derek more than once as the night went on.

Stiles had been watching everyone the whole time and had noticed a few things. Lydia and Laura were strangely close, almost cuddled up together on the sofa and had spent a lot of time speaking in hushed tones. The tightness around Lydia’s eyes had disappeared as soon as she had sat down next to Laura, not even bothering to leave space between them. But as everyone had piled in, Stiles hadn’t had the chance to ask. His gut told him that probably another mate pair had formed in their pack.

Other than that, he had noticed his dad giving strange looks to Peter, but he didn’t know what to make of those. He was trying to put the pieces together when Derek distracted him with another kiss.

“We should go upstairs,” Derek murmured to him, biting his ear softly.

“Yeah, you should, get a room you two!” Scott said, faking disgust and throwing his empty paper cup at them. Other cups followed, making Stiles chuckle. Derek stood up and lifted him, carrying him away like he was his bride. Everyone in the room laughed as Stiles waved at them, in a mock swoon at Derek’s display. He couldn’t be bother to be embarrassed about his father seeing everything and knowing how the night will end for Stiles and Derek.

He was so happy he could burst and all that mattered to him now was that his pack was safe and happy, and his mate’s arms were around him and that soon they’ll be one.


End file.
